Mysterious Ways
by The Labyrinths Scribe
Summary: My version of Season 4, plus unique take on a Sookie/Eric pregnancy fic. Don't knock it till you try it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: Yup. Here we go…again. So, here's the deal (I am going to be completely straight with you): I got this idea and decided to run with it because, well, I can; I have no idea where this is going or how far it's going to go; and I don't know if I'll update regularly, so I won't promise to do so, but I **_**will**_** promise to finish this story.**

**This is an AU fic everyone has thought about (at least once, if fleeting) but no one has written about in quite the same way, so I'm rollin' up my sleeves and digging my heels in. It's going to be a stretch of fantasy and logic, so try and go with the flow if for no other reason than the fact that this is sure to be a fun, if bumpy, ride.**

**IMPORTANT: The story takes place directly after season 3 in the same time frame as season 4, but with a very, **_**very**_** different take on what happened in Faery and Sookie's return. Also, I'm sure many readers are concerned with **_**how**_** exactly this is going to be achieved and are having horrible, nightmarish **_**Twilight**_** flashbacks right now. Don't worry. It'll be a stretch, but **_**way**_** less of a stretch than Stephanie Meyer came up with – Alan Ball has given me more to work with though, in fairness.**

**Thanks, welcome, and enjoy! **

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p><span>The Return<span>

Sookie shrieked as she fell from the dusky sky to the ground, her arms stretching out to brace against her fall. It helped less than she would have liked. Her eyes watered and closed of their own accord, trying to adjust to the light. The adrenaline rush of jumping into the ravine gave her a pleasant buzz, though the change in temperature and, she suspected, time gave her a headache. Her eyes opened once more, having adjusted to the human world once more. Her nose was filled with the scent of the sultry bayou and humid air, and the scent of iron, too. She had never noticed that one before, though she supposed she was more in tune with nature, coming back from Faery.

She stood uncertainly, leaning on a tombstone for support, and glanced around to get her bearings. Sookie slipped off her shoes, desiring to feel grass under her feet again. It had been too long. Still a little unsteady, Sookie took her time walking home – savoring every sight and smell, and the warmth of the sun on her face. She had gone without sunlight for too long. She had gone without everything for too long. Though she did not regret her year in Faery, she knew everyone must have been worried sick about her. But she couldn't tell them the truth. No one could know what happened while she was in Faery. She would not endanger them thus, no more than she already had.

When her eyes came to rest on her home, Sookie began to sway. It was…different. The entire house had been repainted, the porch redone, and the front door replaced. Sookie felt her heart warm just a little – Jason had stepped up to the plate, after all. It looked as though he had taken good care of their childhood home, even restored it to its former glory. The lawn looked manicured, with every blade of grass no more than two inches high. Looking at the house, Sookie couldn't stop wondering why he couldn't have done this much _before_ she left or Gran died. She winced and felt guilty immediately. She could have done this much to the house too, if she'd put her mind to it, and it wasn't any kind of family that thought such nasty things. No, she would put such thoughts out of her mind and be grateful.

Her hand glided up the railing of her porch, which had been sanded down to the bare bones and was now a deep, gleaming cherry colored wood, undoubtedly the color it had been before it was painted white. She slid her key into the lock; briefly worrying that Jason had the locks changed, but was relieved when the lock could be heard clicking out of place. The porch door swung open silently, the rusty hinges having been replaced with brand new stainless steel, and revealed to Sookie a sight she hadn't seen in a year. Some of the furniture had been replaced, but the vast majority had simply been repaired.

All of the side tables had been sanded down and repainted, the sofa and chairs had been reupholstered, and the wood floors gleamed from fresh wax. Everything was…perfect. Feeling overwhelmed, Sookie sat on her couch and relaxed, and was suddenly assaulted by tears. It felt like home – like it had before the Maenad had come in and destroyed everything, like the Maenad had never come at all. She could hear an air conditioner whirring quietly through out the house, and felt a chill travel her arms. Air conditioner? Sookie bit her lip, looking at the improvements in a different light. Where had Jason gotten the money to do all of this?

Sookie sat up and began to take stock of the all the improvements. All of this work had to have cost a fortune, a fortune she knew Jason didn't have. Her anxiety had begun building itself again, and now Sookie wasn't able to hold back any disparaging thoughts about Jason. Was he in trouble again? Though she didn't know how trouble could land Jason in a windfall of cash, the windfall itself was sure to _bring_ trouble if it wasn't brought by it. Regrettably, Sookie knew she wasn't going to be able to relax at all until she got this all sorted out. She allowed herself to sulk for a moment or two, giving herself a few minutes to feel annoyed so she wouldn't take it out on Jason. Night was approaching rapidly, and Sookie knew what it would mean if she went outside. Feeling all the hurt begin to manifest again, Sookie beat it down. She didn't have time for this nonsense. She had one year to mourn the loss of her first love, and so she had done. It was time to move on.

She was a responsible, mature woman from a good family in the twenty-first century – she had no reason to fear Bill Compton's reaction, or care about his reaction for that matter, or let him have anymore tears. She was done with that. The Sookie that left for Faery, and the Sookie that returned, were very different. She was stronger now, less naïve, and one hundred percent ready to face Bill if she had to. She would never again put herself in a position of weakness or vulnerability, because she certainly couldn't afford it. Now was the time to prove that. Night had officially fallen, and Sookie took a deep breath before opening the porch door; Show time.

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><p>Eric's eyes shot open and he felt something strange happen to his body. He hadn't needed to breathe for years, but just then he felt himself inhale deeply. Sookie. The bond that had disappeared and taken a piece of him with it had returned. Though Eric didn't know the time, he could sense that nightfall was approaching and decided to remain awake. It was an inherently strange sensation, feeling the absence of something only to have it come back in the blink of an eye. For the first time in twelve months, fourteen days, and nineteen hours, he felt whole. Gently, Eric reached inside himself and touched the bond cautiously, unsure of it's strength after a year of no contact. The bond had dwindled to a thread, but it was strong regardless. In a moment of perverse pleasure, Eric felt his entire body shudder at being overwhelmed by her presence.<p>

She was happy, but also with withdrawn and anxious. Through the bond he could sense the difference in her, could sense that something was not as it was before; her blood. Her blood was different. It sang to him through their bond, tempted him, taunted him… This was not the blood that Sookie Stackhouse had before her disappearance. No, this was stronger, and less human. With a whimsical smile, Eric wondered what his Faerie had been up to the past year. Almost immediately, the smile disappeared as he recalled the reason for her disappearance. That bastard Compton had driven her from this land. After the bond disappeared, both he and Compton had spent countless hours searching for her. Compton was all too ready to believe that she was dead, and had set to mourning her for the better part of the year.

Eric was not nearly so weak or sentimental. Or faithless. Compton's strongest theory was that Sookie had killed herself, as she had felt no fear before the bond disappeared – only peace. Eric dismissed the notion immediately; Sookie would never be so weak. Unlike Bill, Eric had faith in Sookie and knew that she was far too strong to allow someone as pathetic as Bill Compton to destroy her. He couldn't explain how or why the bond was gone, or why he didn't believe that Sookie was dead, but he hardly felt the need. He was over one thousand years old – the likes of Bill Compton could not question him. The Queen was most displeased when she learned that Sookie had disappeared, but she, like everyone else, let it go. Eric did not.

He returned to his duties at Fangtasia and was as aloof as ever, catering to the humans who came into his bar, but he took no pleasure in it. Seeing humans in such a state of pathetic despair and worship used to amuse him, but no longer. He had not felt amused since Sookie had disappeared. Pam had been planning on taking a long, well earned vacation after coming to dig him out of the cement, but canceled all of her plans when Sookie disappeared. Though she cared little for the girl herself, she felt the bond be ripped from her Maker and knew she could not leave him when he was thus. He never showed how much the lack of the bond had affected him, but he didn't have to. Pam knew. But all of that hardly mattered now. She was back and free. He could feel her strength emanating from the bond, could feel that she had healed from her emotional distress.

He had been forced to be sneaky with his attention to Sookie before, when she belonged to Bill, but that would be unnecessary now. She had renounced Bill and had broken the title of ownership and was now completely fair game. She should never have belonged to the traitorous bastard in the first place, but that was all in the past. She belonged to _him_ now, and he would settle for nothing less than all of her. He was capable of many things, most dark in nature and deed, but he was now able to freely express that which he could not before – generosity and kindness, and he fully intended to lavish both on her. Sookie, to his delight, was wise to his personality and game. So, accordingly rolling with the punches, he changed the rules.

His long fingers began to tap on the headboard of his bed, an unconscious gesture of impatience. Had the sun always taken this long to set? Eric felt his body snap into place and slipped out of the cool Egyptian cotton sheets, dressing hurriedly. He paused on his way out the door, glancing at the nightstand by his bed. Should he bring it with him, or leave it for another time? He decided to leave it. It would hardly work in his favor at the moment. As he left his home, he contemplated whether to drive or fly and decided that time was of the essence. Compton had been forced to return with the Queen to New Orleans, but Eric was hardly going to take the chance that he wouldn't go to her the moment he felt the connection return. It was absolutely imperative that he arrive there first, before Compton had a chance to.

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><p>Sookie let out an unwanted sigh of relief. No one was there. Perhaps Bill had decided to let her have her peace for the night. Eric likely hadn't given her another thought since she left – it was all a game to him, and he was likely very busy at Fangtasia. She let her shoulders sag for a moment in relief before heading back inside. She could deal with everyone tomorrow. Right now, all she wanted was a shower – A hot shower in her own home with her own clothes to slip into.<p>

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><p>Eric arrived at the Stackhouse home almost immediately after the sun went down, taking only a moment to contact Pam and let her know that he would not be returning to Fangtasia tonight. To his pleasure, Bill Compton was nowhere near the home and hadn't been for some time. Eric inhaled as he walked up the stairs of the porch. Sookie's scent was all over the home, now. She had stood on the porch only a few minutes ago, as a matter of fact. He opened the door and noted with some irritation that she hadn't bothered to lock it. That would have to be rectified. He could hear the shower running in the bathroom of the master bedroom, and felt his fangs twitch. He could interrupt her shower, maybe even catch a glimpse of that which enticed him in his waking and subconscious, but that would hardly go over well.<p>

Instead, he used the time he had to thoroughly inspect the house. He had had a lot of work done to it in Sookie's absence, but hadn't the time to properly inspect everything. He was overall pleased with the renovations – the new appliances and upholstery, woodwork, etc,. Alcide had done a fantastic job on everything, as far as Eric could tell. But it didn't surprise him. Alcide was an excellent carpenter, but moreover, he was deeply infatuated with Sookie – any chance to pay her tribute was taken. Alcide, like Bill, believed Sookie to be dead and had done more to her house, better, than he had any other house he had worked on. Eric acknowledged that it was likely some psychological process that led Alcide to do so in the hopes that it would assuage his sorrow. Though he was grateful for the job being done so well, Eric decided that the werewolf would be kept in the dark of Sookie's return until Alcide had moved on or Sookie herself had succumbed to him.

He heard the shower turn off and paused for a moment before mounting the stairs. Why shouldn't he indulge himself in something that gave him pleasure? He took the stairs one by one, giving himself time to enjoy the suspense, and giving her the same amount of time to put some clothes on – it was all _very_ fair, in his mind. The upstairs was warmer than the downstairs, the steam from her shower having dispensed through out the house already. Even from the hall, Eric could smell her shampoo and lavender scented soap. He pushed the door open so gently and slowly that it made no sound, and was rewarded for it. He had intended to make his presence known _before_ she took off her robe, really, but he hesitated; his eyes spied the pink negligee she had yet to dawn. The robe slid from her shoulders and down her back, his eyes following the movement with rapt attention.

She tossed the robe backwards without looking, lost in the recesses of her mind, and Eric reached out to snatch it from the air. She froze, having been jarred from her reverie by the sound, and slowly turned to look behind her. She gasped and, much to Eric's regret, rushed to cover herself with the only thing she had – that damnable pink negligee.

"What the _hell_? Excuse me!"

Eric watched her fumble with the negligee for a moment, trying to get the tiny pink monstrosity to cover as much of her as possible. Her back straightened as much as it could, and she suppressed the shiver his eyes caught trying to travel up her spine; so charmingly defiant. He couldn't help the guttural growl that escaped him.

"Mm," His eyes traveled over her form slowly. "Such a strange sensation, when the reality matches what you've pictured in your mind so precisely."

Sookie had gotten her bearings now, and the negligee placed well enough to cover most of her. She looked concerned when she asked "Is this another dream? It's been a year. How much of your blood is left in me?"

Eric felt the corners of his mouth lift upward into a gentle, amused smile. Ah, the dream. It pleased him that she had dreamt of him as he had of her – of course, vampire blood certainly induces increased libido, but dreams…those were caused at the vampire's discretion. Eric had only ever sent her _one_ dream on purpose, yet she had said _another_ dream. She was dreaming of him of her own accord.

"It's not a dream," He chuckled, enjoying her embarrassment. "I assure you."

"Then how are you here? I rescinded your invitation."

Sharp little fairy had caught that, did she? "You don't own the house anymore," He paused for effect, reveling in her attention, and pulled a key out of his pocket, dangling it in front of her. "I do."

"Why would you do that? Why would you buy my house?"

"Because I always knew you were alive," Unlike her faithless former lover. "And if I owned the house… Well then I would own you." He had paid her bride price, after all. He gave her brother twice what he was asking for, in return for leaving everything in the house. He wanted Sookie to come back to _her_ home. She would be less likely to leave again if she still had ties to the place.

Her jaw clenched and Eric noted the slight jerk her body made as it tried to move backward. Sookie was still being charmingly defiant, but her body had recognized him for what he was: a predator.

He tossed the robe on the bed and walked forward slowly. "Sookie," His voice was low and rough, barely above a whisper, and above all authoritative.

"You…" Five steps away from her. "Are…" Three steps away from her. "Mine." One step away from her, the final word came out almost guttural, and his fangs clicked.

She shuddered and gulped, showing her fear only for a moment, before whipping her hand back and slapping him soundly, storming past him to pull on her robe.

"Like hell I am!" She snapped.

Her hand had warmed his cheek, and Eric found himself struggling not to simultaneously laugh and kiss her senseless as she stormed out of the room. Oh yes, Eric smiled. He had _truly_ missed her.

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><p><strong>AN: So...Yay? Nay? As charmingly fluffy as a story _only_ about Sookie having Eric's baby would be, regrettably, my mind will not let me do that. While the story does rotate around Sookie and Eric's relationship + Baby, there are several underlying subplots and one major plotline. This story isn't going to be a fluff boat. Fair warning. :) So, reviews, pretty please? Even though the first chapter is more or less just a rehash of the first episode (with a few subtle differences to lead you into the changes I've made).**

**On another note, I'm looking for an overall Beta and someone who would be willing to write the lemons - I confess to not being very good at writing them, though they are passable.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: Thank you all so much for your support! A big thank you to my reviewers: footychick, VAlady, TB-Chelyk, erin1705, bethelove, MollyCollins, downbelowgirl, spygrrl, KaiaRay, DawnLeon, Sluggysmom, nordiclover, ericismine, and dark lily amber.**

**Thanks, also, to everyone who alerted and/or favorited this story as well!**

**Eek. Two updates in one day! Ok, well, **_**technically**_** two days since it's after midnight, but it's been less than 12 hours since I posted the first chapter so I'm going with one day.**

**Here's chapter two!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 2: Whose House is it Anyway?<span>

"Stay away from me!" Sookie practically skidded down the stairs, trying to put some space between them.

"This is no way to treat your new landlord."

And he was in front of her again, invading her personal space…all 6'5" of blonde haired, blue eyed Viking of him. Sookie stopped short as he cut her off. "I am not yours and I want you out of my house _now_!"

"Funny about ownership, isn't it?" Sookie noted that he seemed to be fighting a smile. "A little piece of paper and the only power you had over me is _gone_." He stopped fighting. He was definitely smirking now. Sookie felt a wave of irritation flood her veins.

"What do you want from me?" Other than to drive her crazy, she meant.

"Everything." Why did his voice have to send quivers down her spine like that?

"You can't have it." Sorry Charlie, no dice.

"I bought it." He sounded so sure of himself, like he had everything all figured out.

"You bought my house. The house does not come with me inside it." Jackass.

"Oh, well then I _seriously_ overpaid." …No comment.

"That's your problem." Sookie slipped past him, and regretted her words. She was getting sassy and it wouldn't serve her well. For a moment, she felt afraid – this _was_ his house now. He could turn her out at any moment, if he wanted. She banished the thought from her mind. Home is where your heart is. This was just a house. She winced internally, not liking the sound of her own thoughts.

"Your blood tastes like freedom, Sookie. Like sunshine in a pretty blonde bottle. And while they may not know it yet, that is what vampires smell when they smell you."

Was he…? Was he _threatening_ her? "Is that a threat?"

"Absolutely not," He replied immediately, his tone changing abruptly to reassure her. "But others _will_ find out, and when they do, you'll need protection," He paused, letting it sink in. "I can provide that for you."

He was serious. "I'm willing to take my chances." She had spent a year in Faery, a year in both magic and combat training. She could take care of herself now. She turned on her heel to continue walking towards the kitchen and found him in front of her again.

"I bought this house because I care about you. If all I wanted was to taste your blood again I could do it right now and there wouldn't be a thing you could do to stop me," Actually, there was a lot she could do to stop him – just nothing he knew about. "Instead, I am asking you to be mine."

Maybe she had missed the memo, but since when did he _ask_ her anything? Last time she checked, he just _claimed_ her. "I could never be with you the way I was with Bill," She hoped. That…man had nearly destroyed her.

"The first time Bill declared you his, how did it make you feel?"

"Angry." Sookie maintained her cool demeanor, not letting herself be overrun by any old feelings.

"But safe?" Ok. Maybe a little of that too, the more she thought about it. Sookie looked down, unable to maintain eye contact with him.

"You'll come around."

She was tired of arguing, but had to hand it to him – he certainly was persistent. "You're not listening to a word I'm saying." But he was. They both knew he was listening, and that he was choosing to push past her words.

"I know you. There are two Sookie Stackhouses," And he was in front of her again, why? He _really_ didn't like being ignored, did he? If this wasn't a semi-serious situation, Sookie would have laughed. "One who clings to the idea that she is merely human, and the other, who is coming to grips with the fact that _you_ are better than that," Better than what, exactly? What's wrong with being human?

"And, what do you think is going to happen when I _do_ come to grips with it? Do you think my legs are just going to magically open for you?" Tsk. Gran would be so disappointed in her.

His face lit up like a kid at Christmas, a large, beaming smile taking over his face. "Well that was saucy! It must have been Faerie Sookie talking. I like when she comes out."

"And I'm already sorry I said it." Really, she was. Even if it did make him smile.

"Don't be. The more you let her speak for you, the more likely you are to go on living."

He paused for a moment, and though his face betrayed nothing, she could sense uncertainty. "And you want to live, don't you?" Depends on the day, really; Maenad Mondays, as she had come to call them, did make one crave peace.

"Well then," He continued. "I hope to hear from you girls soon." And with an awkward, if gentlemanly nod, he left through the back door. His head turned at the sound of the squeaky, slightly rusty hinges.

"I'll see to it that gets repaired!" And then he was gone.

Sookie wandered back into the living room and curled up on her couch. Eric Northman bought her house. Eric: 6'5" of pure Viking; Very old, very powerful vampire; possessive as hell; more charming than any other man she'd ever encountered; landlord. He could come and go as he pleased, do whatever he wanted with her while she was in his house because it was _his_ house. Suddenly his whole twisted logic about owning her house and thereby owning her, started to make more sense. She shuddered, unsure if it was because she was creeped out or because, in some strange way, she liked the fact that he was pursuing her. It was times like these that made her itch to make a pro/con list, which really wouldn't be right. Could she make an informed decision about a relationship based on a pro/con list?

Sookie was reluctant to let something so silly be a determining factor, but…it was late, and she was bored, so…why not? Sookie curled up on the couch and began to write her pro/con list – it wasn't like she had anything better to do till tomorrow anyway.

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><p>Eric returned to his home a mere hour after he had left. His meeting with Sookie could have gone better, he admitted, but it could have gone a lot worse too. He slipped into his bed and snickered slightly, reaching into his back pocket to pull out the balled up negligee. She would be spitting mad when she found out, he was sure, but it was worth it. Oh, if Godric could see him now. Godric would have delighted in Eric's predicament, and likely found it amusing. It was immature to steal the negligee, if he admitted to himself, but he simply didn't care. For one, the thing was absolutely hideous – the color alone should be wiped from existence – and secondly, it had been pressed against her skin for the better part of ten minutes.<p>

It served a purpose. It would rile her, which would, in turn, rub him in _all_ the right ways. He began to shake and eventually let go of all restraint and roared with laughter. He felt drunk – happy was a stretch, but drunk would suffice. The negligee lay beside him on his bed and he mused that when Sookie was his, he would buy three hundred and sixty five of them, the day she accepted him, in every color of the rainbow – except this one. One for every day of the year that he would rip one off of her. Images began to roll behind his eyelids: twisting sheets, dimmed lights, long blonde hair threaded through his fingers. If he could, he would send a few more dreams her way. This thought dampened his spirits when he realized that Sookie no longer had enough of his blood in her system to do so, and he promptly set his mental power to coming up with ways to get her to comply.

It was probably around two in the morning now, and he hadn't eaten yet. He slid his phone into his hand and called Pam.

"Eric, where are you? Things are getting a little crazy around here."

"I'm sure you have it all in hand."

"Well I supposed I'd better, with whatever's going on in your head. You feel…fuzzy, intoxicated."

"Fuzzy?" Eric laughed. "I suppose that's one word for it. I'm hungry. Send me something pretty. And blonde."

"What happened to your blonde?"

"She's tired."

"I see," Pam's voice lilted slightly, and Eric knew that she knew the truth. Pam knew Sookie well enough to what it was that Sookie had likely said. "Alright, I'll have someone sent over within the hour."

"Thank you, Pam. Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes, Eric?"

"Send someone over to Sookie's house in the morning. The back door needs to be replaced, and the cupboards and refrigerator need to be stocked."

"As you wish, Eric." Pam replied in a tone that could hardly be mistaken for anything but sarcasm and exasperation.

Eric hung up the phone and buried his face in her negligee. It was like…vampnip. He wanted to roll in it. He stopped himself before he did and his mood promptly darkened. Since when did he succumb to carnal desire? Since when did he let himself lose control like this? He had been around Sookie before, had even tasted her blood without such a strong reaction. Why was he reacting this way now? Because Sookie had returned from wherever she was, smelling more like a Faery than she had when she left.

Eric bolted upright in his bed. Sookie had been to see the Fae. He contemplated returning to her immediately and demanding answers, but given their earlier conversation, he decided it could wait until tomorrow. He gently reached out to touch their bond and felt her calm and steady heartbeat; she was asleep. He stroked the bond gently and felt it shudder.

"Sleep well, little one."

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><p>Sookie awoke the next morning in an exceedingly pleasant mood, having slept better than she had in months. She was in her own bed in her own home. Well, kind of. Eric hadn't kicked her out, and he said he'd only bought it so no one else would and she would have a home to come back to… Eh. It was hers. She sat up and slid her legs off the side, stretching her arms. Bemused, she realized she was extremely warm and recognized that she was still wearing her robe. Where was her negligee? She had been so tired last night; she must have forgotten to change into it. Still, it should have been on the bed or the floor next to the bed. Sookie spent a few minutes looking for the lost object only to give up in an exasperated huff and wonder if she hadn't left it somewhere else. As she thought about it, the negligee had stayed in the room, and the only people in the room at the time were her and Eric.<p>

Sookie paused in her thought process. No, no he wouldn't. He was far too mature for that, right? Sookie yanked the sheets off of her bed and tore her room apart. He did. It was the only explanation. That…that…_frat boy!_ Of all the stupid, immature things to do! And she liked that negligee – it was in her favorite color. Damn him. They would have words about this later. Sookie let it go and instead wandered downstairs, sleepily wandering in the kitchen. Her eyes wandered to the clock on the wall and she snorted. Morning indeed. She had slept clean through the morning and into the afternoon! She dipped into the utensil drawer and mindlessly pulled out a measuring cup, dipping it into the coffee jar and setting up the coffee pot. As the coffee percolated, Sookie dozed with her head on her arms at the kitchen table.

Wait a minute. Coffee? Her head lifted from the table to look at the coffee maker. The entire kitchen had been empty last night, she was pretty sure. She opened the refrigerator door and found it completely stocked, and found the cupboards were as well. Eric meant that whole taking care of her thing. She still didn't like the fact that someone had come in while she was sound asleep, though. Her eyes wandered to a bottle of wine in the fridge. It had been there last night, but she hadn't really paid it any mind; it wasn't food. She pulled it out of the fridge to look at the year and kind. Curiosity piqued, she uncorked it and turned it upside down for a second, letting a single drop collect on her finger. She wasn't able to smell any bouquet but wondered if that wasn't because it was only a drop. Her curiosity got the better of her and she gently sucked the drop from finger. As the metallic taste hit her tongue, Sookie did her best to spit it out. It was blood, disguised in a wine bottle. _Psycopathic_ frat boy!

As irritated as she was, the implications hit her. There was blood in fridge. There was blood in a wine bottle that had evidently, at one point in time, been full and was now half empty. Eric hadn't just bought her house – he'd been _**living**_ in her house. Sookie allowed herself to be comforted by the fact that he couldn't have slept here, but that still didn't change the fact that he had lived in her house enough to actually keep real, human blood in the fridge. Her mind immediately traveled along a different path. What did he do while he was here? He had put a very nice TV in, of course, but that couldn't have been all he did. She could feel her heart skip a beat. He wouldn't have…in her bed, would he? Sookie felt her face flush in mortification at thinking such things.

No, Eric was way too…Eric to do such a thing. _But,_ a nasty part of her mind whispered, _he also stole your negligee and only God knows what he's done with __**that**_. Sookie involuntarily made a sound that came out as 'Eep!' Her face burned hotter than a sunburn at that moment. He would. He _totally_ would – psychopathic-lingerie-stealing-frat-boy! When she saw him tonight – and she had no doubt that she _would_ see him tonight – he was going to get it! She stopped and looked at the Calendar on the wall. She couldn't see him tonight. It was a full moon. Sookie sighed and wondered if he would listen when she told him to stay away. She doubted it.

Until night fell, however, she had to go see everyone – Jason, Sam, Tara… And explain her absence. Her face darkened. She couldn't really explain without dragging them into a war, which meant she would have no choice but to glamour them. Tonight was the full moon, and for the next eighteen hours she would be at full strength. Faery glamour is different than Vampire glamour, Sookie had been surprised to discover. Vampire glamour actually altered a person's memory while Faery glamour merely... put a veil over their minds, and blinded them to the truth. Of course, they didn't like it when Sookie referred to it as glamouring. Glamour was a Vampire term. The 'correct' term for this power, Sookie was informed, was Thrall. Specifically, Faery Thrall. She inhaled sharply, not liking the idea that she was going to put her best friends in Thrall and screw with their minds, but knew that she had to. Her absence could not be questioned, by anyone, lest it attract the attention of the Faery Queen that had tried to murder her, or the Faery Prince who held her grandfather captive.

She was hiding in plain sight – the human world, the very town she grew up in – but knew that she was going to be found eventually. As in all games of hide and seek, you expect to be found at some point. Sookie was going to make sure that when she was found, it was because she _wanted_ to be found. So long as she steered clear of everyone tonight after nightfall, everything would be fine.

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><p><strong>AN: So….yay? Nay? Things you liked? Things you didn't like? Pacing? Grammar? Spelling? Do I get a cookie? Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: A BIG thank you to all of my reviewers for Chapter 2: Erin1705, nordiclover, sydkiwi, VAlady, Sluggysmom, Bbet, Spygrrl, downbelowgirl, ericismine, ak269, writergirl89, tbloodlover1000, IkeaGoddess, Nania, Wings of Tears, evedarling84, topdog19, DawnLeon, BuffylovesEric, Yaya Relos, ArmyGirl2010, foxgodess07, SVMReaderCH, Devine Justice, Aishiterou Koinu, and footychick.**

**My favorite kind of cookies…well, I like all cookies! But I adore Chocolate – chocolate and coffee are my one true loves. **

**I'm sorry to say that Sookie is going to be a little bitchy for awhile – she's got a lot on her plate.**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p><strong>On the with the show!<strong>

Chapter 3: Faery Thrall

Sookie shouldn't have been surprised to see a 2011 Audi Spyder sitting in her driveway, but she was. What happened to her car? It was a beater, sure, but it still ran! Sookie couldn't help but laugh at the irony. How many times had she been told to find a man to take care of her, that she _deserved_ to be taken care of? Well, now she had one trying to take care of her and she couldn't stand it! Ok, well that wasn't _entirely_ true, she supposed. She liked the lavish gifts – just not the motivation behind giving them.

Eric always had an agenda, and she was apparently at the top of it these days. She didn't know if she liked being a part of his agenda. With a sigh, Sookie slid into the driver's seat and could feel the leather mold to her skin like butter. Maybe she wouldn't be _too_ harsh with him. Though the car was ostentatious and utterly ridiculous for a person living in Bon Temps, Louisiana to own, Sookie knew she was going to regret giving it up when the time came. She pulled into Merlotte's and felt a wave of nostalgia hit her before she got out of the car. She had missed this place – the people, the bar, the semi-normal life. She had thought that abandoning this world in favor of Faery would get her out of trouble; no more vampires trying to kill her or humans ridiculing her for something she couldn't control. She was wrong.

Faery had been worse, to a point. It had started out well enough, to be sure. She was accepted into their society with ease and grace, and quickly picked up on their social customs and mannerisms. By all accounts, it should have been paradise – until she got caught up in the politics (like she always seemed to do). Sookie shut the car door and put it out of her mind, pasting a smile onto her face. She was happy to see Sam, but knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant visit, and that she was going to have to put him in Thrall. The very thought of it made her internally miserable. She walked through the front door with her head held high, and was relieved to see that the place was empty. Sam had his back to her and was drying off some glasses, so lost in thought that he didn't turn around when the door opened.

She waited until he had set the glass down before approaching the bar. "Hey, Sam,"

He spun around, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Sookie? Is it really you?"

"Well I don't know who else I would be!" She laughed.

Once the reality set in, Sam rushed around from behind the bar and pulled her into a bear hug, lifting her off her feet. Sookie couldn't help but notice he was shaking.

"Where have you been?" So it begins.

"After what happened with Bill," She paused, letting it sink in. "I just couldn't be here anymore, Sam. I couldn't take it."

"So you think that gives you an excuse to just run off? Sookie, we had the entire goddamn town looking for you! They drained the lake! Oh, and that_ other_ fucking vampire of yours, Eric, went crazy! He damn near burned down my bar the first night you went missing!"

"He did _what_?"

"Yeah! He came in here the night you disappeared, looking for you. When I told him I didn't know where you were or what happened to you, he threw a fucking kerosene lamp against the wall, watched it light the place on fire, and then flew outta here like a bat outta hell!" Sam paused in his rant, realizing that Sookie didn't know any of this. "That was how we figured out something had happened to you. Me and Andy drove out to your place, but you weren't anywhere to be found. Bill disappeared too, so they thought it was him for awhile, but he turned up eventually in New Orleans. Eye witnesses had him there the night of your disappearance, before you disappeared. You were just…gone. Where were you, Sookie?"

This was it. She took a deep breath and focused herself, letting her mind tap into her blood. The part of her that was Faery caused her blood to stir; she could hear the wind whistle through the trees, the wind chimes tinkling in the wind. Her eyes opened slowly and she could see Sam take a step back.

"Sookie, what happened to you? What are you –" He trailed off, his eyes staring directly into hers. A golden hue clung to the iris of her eye, pulling him into her. Sam sunk to his knees before her, his breathing labored and erratic. Sookie pulled his mind into hers and did her best to soothe him.

"It's ok, Sam," Sookie's voice slid over him, smooth as glass. "Nothing happened to me while I was away."

"It didn't?"

"No," She let her fingers run through his hair and stroked his forehead with the pad of her thumb; he was a child before her, clinging to her, with his head resting on, and buried in, her stomach. "It doesn't matter where I went."

"It doesn't matter where you went," He repeated.

"I'm safe, and home, and that's all that matters now."

"You're safe, and home, and that's all that matters now." He parroted back, his voice rough and barely above a whisper.

"Good, Sam. That's good. Now, stand up." Sookie ordered him. He complied and looked at her with endless depths of swimming chocolate. She soothed his mind and began to gently pull back. Little by little, he returned to normal. Sookie hugged him and maneuvered around him to leave.

"You leaving so soon, Sook?"

She heard the edge in his voice. "I ain't disappearing again, Sam. I promise."

"Well, good. I'm just glad you're home, safe and sound."

Sookie felt a pit in the bottom of her stomach and nodded before walking towards the door.

"When can you start working again?"

She whirled around. "Really, Sam? You mean it? I didn't even ask – I thought…"

"You never had to ask, Sookie," Sam, kind hearted, loyal, warm man that he was, said. "I expect you'll need some time to get your bearings, and figure things out with Jason, and I'm going to need some time to come up with a new work schedule. How about a week?"

"A week sounds perfect, Sam." Sookie smiled, thanking God for blessing her with Sam Merlotte. "By the way, where _is_ Jason? I tried calling his cell earlier, but it said it was out of service." Something she found _extremely_ irritating.

"Oh, he's living up in Hot Shot now. Got himself married too."

And the hits just keep coming. "He did? Is she…who is she?"

"Her name's Crystal. She's a sweet girl, if a little wild," Sam paused for a moment in uncertainty.

"Sam, what aren't you telling me?"

He shook his head. "It's not my place to tell, darlin'. Jason'll tell you when he's ready."

Sookie didn't know what it could be, but she didn't like the sound of that. "Ok. I'll see later, Sam."

"Later, Sookie." A dreamy smile took over his face, a peaceful expression. Sookie felt her guilt grow.

By the time she reached her car, Sookie shoved aside all emotional turmoil and let it go in a deep breath. She had no choice but to put him in Thrall. His safety, and hers, depended on it. The sun was starting to set, now. She didn't have time to hunt Jason or Tara down; she needed to prepare for tonight. By her estimation, she had maybe an hour and a half before night fell completely, and Eric would be at her door. She returned home and was once again forced to admire the changes that he had made to it in her absence. Still, he had no right to buy it from her brother any more than Jason had the right to sell it; it should stay in the family.

Sookie bounded up the stairs and dug out her grand daddy's old army duffel, worn from use but usable, and began packing clothes. She carefully counted and packed what she would need to survive the week, though she doubted she'd be wearing any of it, before heading downstairs to pack food. The items she chose were basic and required little to no preparation or refrigeration; honey, bread, cereal, peanut butter. She also doubted she would spend much time eating, either. She didn't bother with a sleeping bag, but found a pillow to her liking and several blankets that would fit. Everything was now packed and ready, and so all that remained was to hide the duffel from Eric's prying eyes. Sookie wandered into the sitting room adjoined to the kitchen, and spotted a beautiful antique armoire in the corner. It looked to be very old, but very well taken care of.

"This I'll keep," Unlike the car.

She unlatched the doors and opened them, only to be put in a state of shock. The entire inside of the armoire was covered in a finely pounded sheet of what she assumed to be stainless steel. Attached to the back of were nothing less than ladder rungs, leading down. She leaned forward every so slightly and followed the line of rungs all the way down into a hole, through the bottom of the armoire and the floor.

"_Motherfucker!"_ She hissed angrily. He built himself a _cubby_. He built himself a cubby, _in her __**house**_. She slammed the doors shut and re-latched it, feeling more angry than she had when she found out he had bought her house. She tossed her duffel underneath the sewing table in the corner and draped a long table cloth over it to conceal it. She returned to the kitchen and started making herself dinner, hovering between disbelief and self-righteous fury. She didn't hear him open the door, or walk into the kitchen, but she could feel him through their bond. She stirred the spaghetti sauce in the pan with a tight grasp on the wooden spoon, her jaw clenched. She turned to face him as she turned off the stove, and folded her arms across her chest, glaring at him with a stony expression on her face.

"That's not a good face," He started with, a charming smile on his face.

Well, too bad. She was angry and no pretty eyelash batting was going to get him out of it this time. "You _insufferable_, _egotistic, high-handed, prick!_" His face was priceless. Whatever he was expecting, that wasn't it. "How _dare_ you?"

"What have I done _now_?" He asked, his voice borderline irritated. He was not amused now.

"You built yourself a cubby, in _my house!"_ She threw the wooden spoon at him, unable to stop herself.

He caught it in his hand and snarled, baring his fangs at her. "No, Sookie, I built myself a cubby _in __**my**__ house!" _He all but roared the last part. "And you would do well to remember that it was for _you_!"

"For _me_? _What_ exactly, was for me?"

"I bought this house so no one else would! So you would have _something_ to come back to after your little disappearing act! I bought new appliances, had everything fixed and repainted and reupholstered so it would be _nice_ for you to come back to after the Maenad destroyed everything!" He was furious now, she could tell.

"Liar! You can't even be honest with _yourself_, can you, Eric? You didn't do this for me! You did this for _you_! So that when, _if_, I ever came back, _you_ would be the hero and I would trip over myself to thank you in whatever way _you_ thought appropriate!" Sookie stormed past him into the living room, feeling tense and needing some breathing room. Before Sookie could walk three feet past him, she was forcefully pressed up against a wall, Eric having effectively pinned her there with his body.

"I am **many** things, Sookie Stackhouse. I am a murderer, a vampire, a Viking, a lover, a father, and a Sheriff. I am _not_ a liar." He ground out, his voice rough and quivering with barely checked rage. "I hate, I mourn, I love – just as you do. But I do not lie. _I do __**not**__lie! I am not __**him**__!"_ He and Sookie were nose to nose now, staring at each other with unchecked anger.

"Get out." Sookie was on the brink of tears. She cursed the timing of her lunar cycle, and how emotional it made her, and prayed that he would leave. She couldn't deal with him now. "Please, just leave."

He looked as though he was going to argue with her further, but merely let his forehead rest against hers, his eyes closing. She took a shallow, unsteady breath and felt a tear roll down her cheek. His eyes opened slowly, having returned to their normal ocean blue. Spotting the tear, he unconsciously winced and released her, backing away. He left out the backdoor and shut it softly behind him. Sookie waited until she heard his car engine start, and heard him pull out of the driveway before she slide down the wall and let her body be racked with sobs.

It was her fault, she knew. She started a fight over something completely stupid and irrational. She had figured out from the blood in the fridge earlier that he had obviously been living there – where else was he going to sleep? And it _was_ his house, now. The only silver lining to their fight was the fact that she could now slip into the woods without arousing his suspicion. Her lunar cycle would end in a week, and by then he would have cooled off enough to talk properly. She settled in at the dinner table with her supper, silently wishing she could call him and apologize. But she wouldn't. It would take time she didn't have, and she would have to admit something she didn't want to: she was wrong.

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><p>Eric was speeding. He would have flown, if he had even an inkling of what was in store for him at her house. He had decided to take his time getting there because he didn't feel the need to rush, and he wanted to savor it. Their reunion had gone well enough the night before that Eric had decided to take things a step further. Evidently, Sookie was not in the same frame of mind. He noted that she seemed on edge when he entered, and that her behavior was…odd. Sookie was, inherently, easy for him to read. Her body language always expressed what her mouth did not, but tonight… Her movements had been jerky, less graceful than they usually were.<p>

Something wasn't right with her, mentally or physically – he could feel that through their bond, now that he had calmed down enough to check. Their bond felt strange, less solid than it had in the past. Thread or not, it had always been firm. Now it felt like…dough. Pliable, soft. He didn't like it. Abruptly, he slammed on his brakes. Something was interfering with his bond with her. _Someone_ was interfering with their bond. Someone had the audacity to fuck with what was his. Eric did a U-turn in the middle of the road and drove back to her home. Something was very, very wrong.

He was farther away than he thought, having driven for an hour doing 80. It took him longer than he would have liked to get back, having to slow down to accommodate traffic laws now that he was in his right mind. That was another thing. He shouldn't have lost his temper like that, shouldn't have screamed at her, and above all, shouldn't have brought up Bill Compton. Healed or not, one did not simply forget that their first love was only with them from the get-go because they were ordered to be. He had always been known for his control issues, as Pam had dubbed them. He controlled his emotions, his business, and fate, down to the very letter. There was nothing beyond his cool rationale and analysis. Except her. He found himself losing control around her, more than he was willing or happy to admit. It was unsettling.

He pulled into her driveway, now in a frame of mind ready for attack, but he could not hear her in the house. His ears strained to hear her heart beat, but with no result. He reached out to touch their bond again and felt it pulse, even more fuzzy than it had been before. She was alive, but not home, and her car was still in the driveway. He inhaled deeply and caught a whiff of her scent trailing from the house to the woods. Crazy, foolish girl! It was a full moon. What was she thinking, running off into the woods like that? It wasn't safe for her – vampires, werewolves, and shifters would be out on a night like tonight. At that moment, Eric wished he could just lock her up in a tower like in the days of old.

He proceeded to follow her trail quickly but cautiously, unaware of what could be causing their bond to behave so strangely. He kept an eye out for any other supernatural creatures, but was surprised to find no trace. Normally, these woods would be overrun by shifters and weres. But not tonight. Something had scared them off. Her scent was getting stronger now, collected; she had stopped, or camped for the night. His eyes could make out a bonfire in the distance, but it was strange, unearthly. He reached the encampment, expecting to see Sookie in the place where her scent covered even the trees, but she wasn't there. Disturbed, he sought out the bond again. She should be right here, right where he was standing, but she wasn't. Faintly, he could hear drums and strings in the background, a veritable orchestra playing an eastern waltz. In one fell swoop, while he was distracted by the sounds of Nature's orchestra, he felt something hit him hard across the head.

His eyes opened and he blinked, trying to making the world stop spinning. As his eyes focused, he could see Sookie, and feel her. She was sitting astride him, her fingers trailing down his face and chest and back up. Her eyes were completely golden, not even a sliver of the blue they had once been. He tried to sit up, but was slammed back into the ground; Sookie knew he was awake.

"Hello, lover," Sookie whispered, leaning forward to brush his lips with a chaste kiss. "Welcome to the party."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the wait! I got super excited about Harry Potter and...yeah...lol. Review please! 3**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you to all of my wonderful, amazing reviewers: , sydkiwi, VALady, IkeaGoddess, tbloodlover1000, nordiclover, Devine Justice, Spygrrl, ericismine, cante, ., sluggysmom, Queen of Night, foxgodess07, writergirl89, kista-angel, racecz5.**

**So…no takers on the Beta thing? No one wants the opportunity to read the chapter before it comes out? (Yes, that was a **_**blatant**_** bribe)**

…**.Clearly, I have no shame. –hangs head-**

**The title of this chapter is also the recommended song to play whilst (re)reading it. It's the song I used to write it and would recommend using it to set the mood, or understand the mood I meant to set (if you don't get the vibe). It's almost an eight minute song, but if you're an exceptionally fast reader, I would recommend starting it at 2:45, when they Sookie suggests the deal (the second time around). You'll see.**

**Mystic's Dream – Loreena McKennitt**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 4: The Mystic's Dream<span>

Eric couldn't speak. His mind was racing, muddled by confusion and lust. This was Sookie he was looking at, to be sure, but…not her, at the same time. Her eyes were bright gold, for one thing, and she smelled different. Now that the world had stopped shaking violently, he could tell they were not in the forest behind Sookie's house. Everything had an iridescent glow, a shimmer. The moon was so large that Eric was sure he was no longer on Earth. Sookie, his Faery, his charming Southern belle, the telepath, was sitting astride him, stroking and petting him in such a manner that, if she promised to do that for the rest of her life, he would swear eternal fealty and monogamy. _What the __**fuck**__? _

He tried to push her off, even as she nipped his neck with affection, and quickly found himself flying backwards. His back hit the tree trunk with a heavy thud, the tree groaning in protest. His eyes wandered to Sookie, standing two yards away, with tears in her eyes.

"Why?" Her voice was raspy and choked. "Why do you reject me?"

She sounded so forlorn and heartbroken that Eric had to violently bite his tongue to stop himself from going to her and begging her forgiveness. "Where is Sookie?"

She cocked her head to the side. "I _am_ Sookie."

"No," He paused, his eyes wandering over her lithe, glowing form. "You're not. Not three hours ago Sookie Stackhouse and I had a disagreement – you would not be here, tripping over yourself to jump me, if you were her."

"How wrong you are, lover," Her voice purred.

Eric tried a different tactic, seeing that this conversation wasn't getting anywhere. "Where are we?"

A small, coy smile graced her features. "Between."

"Between? Between what, exactly?"

"The Veil."

Veil? Alarmed, Eric reached for their bond and grabbed it tight, even as it bent and twisted when it should have not.

Sookie gasped and shuddered, her arms covered by goose bumps. She grinned at him wildly. "That tickles, Eric,"

The bond confirmed what he did not trust his eyes to tell him. This was, in fact, Sookie Stackhouse, but alarmingly _not_ at the same time.

"What do you mean by 'The Veil'?"

"Oh, Eric," Sookie laughed. "You really don't know _anything_, do you?" She looked at him, utterly amused, and beckoned him forward with the crook over her finger. He approached cautiously, but let her take his hand. She led him around the pyre, to a large mess of blankets that formed a large ring. He stopped, refusing to go further. The minx was trying to coax him into her bed!

"You will tell me what I need to know," He ordered, forcing any hint of uncertainty out of his voice.

She released his hand and lay on the mess of blankets, ignoring him, and began to make a crown of flowers.

Eric snarled at her – how _dare_ she ignore and defy him – and ran forward, sliding to his knees and grasping her throat with one hand, he held her to the ground, keeping her pinned there.

"You will answer me!"

It wasn't until he felt her other hand rest on the back of his neck, her fingers curling the hair at the base of his neck that he realized he had been played. He tried to stand but found he could not; he was paralyzed. She chuckled throatily and removed his hand from her throat, placing it on her abdomen. He felt his entire body forcibly relax out of his control and growled in anger.

"Hush, lover," She soothed him, holding him close and running her fingers through his hair. "You're fine, and all is well,"

Her voice was soothing him, making him pliant. Was this what it felt like to be glamoured? His head felt thick and heavy as he struggled against the fog.

"I will make a deal with you, Eric Northman, in return for giving you the information you seek."

"What deal?" He managed to rasp out, unable to do anything but speak and hope that he could convince her to release him.

"I want the next seven days with you, Eric, day and night. Seven days of your eternal life, in return for all your questions answered," She paused, nuzzling him gently, and continued with a whisper directly into his ear. "If you remember to ask them, that is."

"All of my questions answered, in a _straightforward_ manner, for seven days of my time."

She pretended to consider it and released him from her spell. He slid away from her, desiring to put some distance between them before she pulled him under again. He needed to figure out how to return her to being _Sookie_. As much as he desired her, he wanted it to be _Sookie_ that came to him, begging for his time, and not this bewitching Fae that tried to glamour him. She stood and raised here arms to the sky, a delighted smile taking over her face, and she began to sway, her hips jerking and moving to the rhythm of the drums. Drums? He could hear them, in the distance, perhaps even several miles away. Her hair was loose and wild and wavy, unkempt like it usually was. She was in a short sundress with a tight, strapless bodice. His eyes traveled over her sun-kissed skin, loving the contrast between it and the pure snow white of her dress.

"As you wish," She whispered, turning to face him. She approached him slowly, and stood before him, looking charming and almost like Sookie. She began at his hands, her delicate fingers leaving slow, burning trails over his skin as they made their way up his arms, over his biceps.

"Where are we?" He pushed the words out, fighting against the distraction she was presenting him. Her challenge about remembering to actually _ask_ the questions began to make sense.

"We are in the Veil, between Earth, and Faery. A limbo, if you will." Her fingers didn't stop their slow, torturous exploration.

"Where is Sookie?" Her fingers had found his collarbone now.

"I'm right here."

His hand grasped hers, and he frowned, showing his disapproval. "Straightforward, Faery. You know what I meant."

She sighed and looked at him expectantly. When he released her hand, which immediately renewed its exploration, she continued. "She is me, and I am her. Her human side isn't," She paused, looking for the right word. "Awake right now. You said it, Eric, remember?" She pulled his head down, their noses brushing as she whispered the next part. _"There are __**two**__ Sookie Stackhouse's,"_

His eyes widened. This was the Faery Sookie then. "You're different entities then?" His voice almost caught in his throat; everywhere her fingers touched was aflame with warmth, and her fingers were on his face now.

"Not exactly; we are one and the same, she and I, but one of us has dominance. Usually, it's her, but not this week. This week is _mine_."

"Why?"

She pulled his arms around her and rested her head on his chest, pulling him into a slow rhythm of dance. "Because it's our lunar cycle."

"Lunar cycle?" Her proximity to him, the smell of her blood…it was beginning to affect him. His mind was beginning to _really_ cloud over.

"Faeries are not very fertile creatures, Eric," She pulled him down to the ground into a sitting position and curled up in his lap. "Humans go through periods of fertility once a month, but Faeries go through periods of high fertility once a _year_, and even then, the rate of conception isn't very high. This period of fertility is referred to as our Lunar Cycle, because it typically coincides with completion of the waxing of the Faery Moon, which lasts one week."

"The full moon only lasts three days, not seven."

She chuckled, and Eric could feel the reverberations from her throat. "The _human_ full moon only lasts three days, a month. In Faery, the moon is full for seven days a year. Half the year it waxes, the other half it wanes, but for one week in the middle. Since the waxing is always longer than the waning, the time of the full moon changes year to year."

"Sookie's only part Faery though," He interrupted, realizing that he was fighting an uphill battle.

"True, but we spent a year among our own kind, as I'm sure you've figured out by now," She smiled and sat on her haunches, parallel to him. "The more time we spend within Faery, the more Faery we become."

Sookie leaned forward, her entire body flush against his, and kissed him slowly, deeply. Eric fought wildly to not kiss her back, having more questions.

"So the purpose of your Lunar cycle is reproduction, then?"

"Of course, as it is in the human world."

He needed to get out of here. Sookie would see this as an obvious betrayal of her trust, perhaps even more than Bill, if he slept with her now – which, in turn, meant he would never get the chance to do so again. As glamour didn't work on her, he had to _work_ for her regard, so he wasn't about to make his life any more difficult.

"Then," His voice was strong now, full of conviction. "You really don't want me here. I cannot give you what you seek."

She threw her head back and laughed. "You think yourself _so_ clever, don't you Mr. Northman?" His name, said in such a way, with such a heavy southern drawl, sent pleasant chills down his spine. "Trying to worm your way out of our agreement,"

She left his lap and stalked to the fire, gazing into it as if it held all the secrets of the world. "Mm," She chuckled, looking over her shoulder at him with a smirk. "As you wish. You are free to leave anytime you wish, Eric." And she set off towards the treeline, away from the glade she had made her camp.

"Where are you going?"

"Mr. Northman," She began, apparently knowing what it did to him. "This is our first lunar cycle, but it is just as strong as that of a thousand year old faery's."

"So?" He didn't quite see where this was going.

"That means that my goal is to have as much sex as possible," Faery Sookie replied bluntly.

"_Excuse_ me?"

"Oh, don't be such a prude, Eric," She smiled. "It's a biological need that must be satisfied, and a political one, if I am to survive. If you will not help me, then I will go and find someone _else_ who will."

Like _hell_ she would! He caught her arm and yanked her back into the glade. "Explain. **Now.**"

"I have not told you what happened while I spent my year in Faery, and nor will I. That is the one question of yours I cannot answer – _she_ will not let me. I will tell you this, though: When a Faery enters her lunar cycle, she chooses her Cycle Mate, the person she chooses to spend her cycle with – whether they be husband, or friend, or stranger - and if she does _not_ choose a Cycle Mate by midnight of the first night of her Cycle, she loses the _right_ to choose and thus becomes fair game."

"Fair game for _who_?"

"Anyone who desires her. It's Faery Law, and therefore must be obeyed – barbaric or not, it is custom. While in Faery, Sookie got us caught up in something that was none of our business," Eric noted she didn't sound happy with her human counterpart, at all. "And now we are in great danger."

"What happened?"

She shook her head. "I cannot say. We are sought out by our enemy, and if he finds us during our cycle without a mate, we will be completely vulnerable for the entirety of our cycle. _That_ would be bad enough! But, if we were to beget a child by that man…"

She didn't need to say anymore. Eric understood the situation immediately. The human world had evolved over the course of the 1000 years that he had walked it, socially at least, but the realm of Faery had not. The laws were much the same when he was alive. Women were chattel, necessary to sustain life but chattel none the less. Having a child by a man was a death sentence for some women in his time – the woman had nowhere else to go but with the father of her child.

"Sookie hoped that secluding us from both the Human and Faery worlds would keep us safe," Eric could hear a palpable 'but' coming. "I am not so naïve. Seven days is a long time to be hidden from one who seeks you his every waking moment. As much of a bastard as he is, he would not try and take us if we had already Chosen."

"That's why you let me in," It hit him. "You could have kept me out, in the human world, but you brought me in. You Chose me."

She smiled and turned back to him. "Yes, I did."

"Are your feelings for me not the same as Sookie's?"

"Yes." Her smile grew wider.

"Sookie hates me, though," He spat, the words leaving a horrible after taste.

"No she doesn't. She's angry with you, to be sure, but she's fond of you. Her actions in Texas proved that, as did the Russell Edgington incident."

"She thought I was going to die. That's different."

"Not really," She said mildly. "If you think about it, it makes sense. Even as good a Christian as she is, she would have let you die if she wasn't fond of you. You tricked her into drinking your blood, drank from her without her permission, and held her captive – the motive for her to let you die is there, but she didn't let it happen."

Faery Sookie began to gently push him back, towards the glade, towards their bed of blankets. "Do this for us, and I will reward you handsomely."

"Be _mine_." The words slipped from his mouth before he realized he'd even thought them, let alone speak them. "Submit yourself to me, a blood exchange."

Fury flew across her features before settling into something relaxed and sly. "Give me free reign to do _whatever_ I want with you during our seven days, and your promise that you will abide by Faery Laws as they apply."

"Alright," And he kissed her, letting go of all the restraint he had before, until she pushed him back.

"Not good enough, Vampire," She said. "I want your word, by blood _and_ bond of Faery magick." With that said, she pulled a ribbon from her hair and offered him an arm to grasp.

His eyes bore into hers, trying to discern some sort of cue that this was a trap or potentially fatal. When he saw none, he grasped her forearm and watched as the ribbon snaked around their entwined hands and tightened.

"Do you, Eric Northman, Vampire Sheriff of Area 5, solemnly swear to submit yourself to me during these next seven days, and abide by _all_ Faery Laws as they apply to us?"

"I do. And do you," Eric continued before she could pull away and break the bond. "Sookie Stackhouse, Faery and Telepath, solemnly swear to submit yourself to me as _mine_ as the term is applied by Vampire laws?"

"I do. We are bound to our words by magick, so let us now seal our agreement by blood. Your area of expertise, I believe," She smiled, stepping forward.

He picked her up and hoisted her into his lap as he sat down, pulling her against him so that they were both facing the pyre. His left arm slid around her waist, pulling her as close as possible and keeping her anchored there. She leaned back into him and gazed up at him, the golden iris' staring into his. Maintaining eye contact, he bit his wrist with ferocity and brought his wrist around to her mouth. Her tongue caressed the wound first, slowly, before her lips set to suckling. Eric shuddered in primal pleasure, giving his blood a chance to make its way inside her system before grazing her flesh with his fangs, and biting down on the curve of her neck. She shuddered and inhaled sharply, from pain or pleasure he couldn't tell. Her blood was as he remembered, tasting of sunlight and wheat and honey wine.

Their bond, which had been pliant and doughy for far too long, was strong now, tangible, and a veritable rope in comparison to the thin thread it had been. Eric pulled back gently, fearing that he would not be able to stop if he didn't do so now. She released his wrist and licked the wound clean, Eric doing the same for her. She changed positions in his lap, spinning around to straddle him, and kissed him with renewed fervor. Eric let her and kissed her back, equally punishing, and pulled her closer, his hand sliding to grasp the hair at the base of her neck and keep her close. Her fingers were doing what they had earlier – scalding his skin with primeval fire. As her lips descended on his again, there was a notable difference – a spark. She exhaled into his lungs and Eric felt something that he had not felt in a thousand years –a beating heart. _**His **_beating heart. His entire body trembled.

"What have you done?" His hands shook violently in fear, and anger. "What have you done to me?"

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><p><strong>AN: I'm evil. I admit it. That being said, stick with me. I'm lining things up and things will make sense next chapter. Review, pretty please?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/n: As always, I bow to the awesomeness of my reviewers: Sydkiwi, IkeaGoddess, foxgodess07, downbelowgirl, VALady, ap630, Anna-Rogue-Marie-Howlett, cdsnow, bbet, erin1705, spygrrl, footychick, ericismine, CeruleanKitten, Ericsfae, sluggysmom, prndth, Queen of Night, Aishiteru Koinu, Kaia Ray, Ozzykomakozzy, JordyGirl92, nordiclover, lilah66, RockBouvier21, , rcherry1977, ArmyGirl2010, DawnLeon, UndercoverCaptain, aprilshowers021, ebm1, livesimple, chalese, ncmiss12, Caleb, KoteDiM, Jezebelnhell, topdog19, and whitstripes123.**

**Heheh. I got a creative growth spurt and ran with it. Still not quite as tall as Eric though (insert sad face here). **

**I would also like to thank you all for your amazing show of support; this story has only been up for a week****, but we've surpassed a hundred reviews AND over a hundred alerts. Thank you all so much!**

**Suggested song for the chapter: Dancing - Elisa**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 5: Success<span>

Chapter 5: Success

"What have you done to me?"

Sookie smiled, using their newly renewed revived bond to soothe and calm him.

"What I wanted. Don't worry, Viking, it's not permanent – and you're still a Vampire, make no mistake about that."

"Why?"

"Shh…hush, lover. Don't be upset with me." She kissed him gently, sweetly. "I only have seven days with you – I wanted to make the most of them, including the daytime."

"I can…walk in the sun?" The reality was setting in.

"For now, yes; our bond and my blood, which is now more Faery than it was before, have given you the ability to walk in the sun until the end of my lunar cycle. My magick, which has made your heart beat once more, will only last until then as this is when I am strongest. Sookie," She warned him, seeing his train of thought "Will not be able to do this."

He was, for all intents and purposes, alive once more. His eyes filled with wonderment and he turned them back to Sookie, who was watching him work things out in his head with an amused expression on her face. She laughed, her voice rich and throaty, before returning to her previous task: seducing him well and thoroughly. They were slow this time, coaxing things from each other. Eric let himself succumb to her will, as he had sworn to do, and was not disappointed.

He felt no urge to hurry this, this moment he had been waiting for. He kissed her brow…her nose…her cheeks, all the way down her neck, delighting in her scent and the dusky peach colored skin. It would be all the brighter in the sunlight, something he had never hoped to see again. She was beautiful now, with only the moon and stars to illuminate her features – how would she look in the sun? Her glorious golden hair spread on the grass, shining like wheat colored glass; her fine eyes deeper than chocolate, brightened by the exercise; her skin rosy under the suns unyielding heat. It would be a wonder, to see things in sunlight again; water, the trees, the grass, birds, flowers… All things that had been taken from him so long ago.

Her bright eyes followed his movements, never blinking, expressing the desire she would not say. She reached around behind her, undoing the laces of her sundress as he continued to kiss her everywhere he could reach. Her hands stopped when his covered them, and pulled them towards him. He kissed the palms of her hands before placing them on his chest, his own reaching around to finish undoing the laces of her dress. The dress slid down her body and pooled at her waist, bearing her lithe form before him. His lips captured her in sweet lovers kiss, trailing down to suckle her collarbone.

She moaned in ecstasy, and it empowered him to push forward; she was under his control now. His tongue swirling around one nipple at a time, he denied her nothing. In the back of his mind, he could hear Reason reminding him about Sookie, the real Sookie, how upset she would be. Eric brushed it away as one might do a hovering gnat. He was doing this for her safety and well-being, and she would get over it. It sounded hollow, even coming from him.

As though she could feel the doubt starting to form, she pulled him from his ministrations and kissed him soundly, hurriedly. Memories of their one true kiss, when he had decided to give himself up to fate and take Russell Edgington with him, began to flash before his eyes.

"You are distracted, lover," She whispered against his mouth, her lips trailing down his neck and leaving love bites.

"By you," He replied, telling the truth but withholding it at the same time. "Always by you,"

The answer was ambiguous at best, but it satisfied her. Even still, she decided it would be best if she removed all possible thought from his brain, so she did. Eric watched with rapt attention as she pulled the dress over her head, leaving him to observe her in all of her glory. She slid away from him and all Eric could do was watch, confused and unable to conceive why she was moving away. She stood and pulled him with her, her fingers leaving trails of warmth over his skin.

"We're a little at odds, Eric," she whispered, pulling his head down to kiss him, keeping his attention on her. Her hands found their way to his belt, which was quickly undone, then to his zipper. Eric, able to see where this was going, shimmied out of his jeans, pulling his shirt over his head in the next moment. The second the shirt was off, her hands were on him, all over him. Her kiss was one of desperation, passionate and hurried as though time was running out. He picked her up and her legs wrapped around his waist, unintentionally brushing her thigh against him. He groaned at the contact but was satisfied with their current position; Sookie was flush against him, no space to be found.

He sank to his knees smoothly, never breaking the contact between their skins. One hand, which had been crushing her to him, left its position to brace them against the ground. They sank slowly into the blankets, managing to avoid breaking any contact, and kissed with renewed fervor. As they settled into their makeshift bed, Sookie unhooked her legs from his waist and instead let them relax on either side of him. He settled on top of her and let her feel him, all of him.

Her arms encased him in lovers embrace, and let one leg curl up, applying pressure to his outer thigh. Their kissing had slowed to sweet, chaste kisses that left her breathless, to Eric's unwavering amusement and delight.

"It's ok," She whispered in his ear, assuaging any doubt that remained.

He leaned back ever so slightly, and let himself fall at her entrance. She was ready; he just wasn't sure if he was. She kissed him and let her hand slide down to guide him in. For all of his doubt, he couldn't stop now if he wanted to. He slid between her folds and entered her slowly, agonizingly slowly. She inhaled sharply, her back arching and pressing her against him further. The Faery let out a pleased shudder, an exhale of breath, and let him set the pace- this was what she had been waiting for – and then he began to move. Her hips rose to meet him, enjoying the slow rhythm. He kissed her and, in a split second decision, opened the bond. They were both flooded with emotion and feeling, anything and everything they felt was doubled – right now, it was pleasure.

He gradually began to pick up the pace, enjoying the feeling of the Faery losing control. She was being overrun by his feelings and couldn't keep her head straight, left without rationale or control. Her hips moved of their own accord, keeping the pace though she had no conscious thought of doing so. The more she writhed beneath him, the more difficulty Eric had in maintaining control. Her scent was overpowering him. His thrusts grew more erratic, harder, until she could no longer keep up.

Feeling the timing of their releases, Eric felt his fangs release and didn't wait for permission. His fangs sank into her neck as their release hit them full blast, her blood filling his mouth and encouraging his lust driven frenzy. They came simultaneously, paralyzing them both in time as they felt the trifold pleasure their open bond had caused; his pleasure, her pleasure, the blood bond.

Sookie smiled at him, her skin glistening with a fine sheen of sweat. She shuddered beneath him and he heard her whisper, almost too low for him to hear, "I have succeeded. We are safe."

Eric was in no frame of mind to analyze her words. Her blood had sated his hunger, but had refueled his lust. He began to move within her again, whispering things in her ear that he hadn't ever thought, let alone spoke.

_Hur kan jag säga..._

Hur kan jag säga om din röst är vacker.  
>Jag vet ju bara, att den genomtränger mig<br>och kommer mig att darra som ett löv  
>och trasar sönder mig och spränger mig.<p>

Vad vet jag om din hud och dina lemmar.  
>Det bara skakar mig att de är dina,<br>så att för mig finns ingen sömn och vila,  
>tills de är mina.<p>

Abruptly, he felt a change in their bond, a shift.

"Eric…?" Sookie gasped, her legs instinctively curling around his waist to bring him closer. He kissed his way back up the valley of her breasts and laid a deep kiss on her sweet, heart shaped mouth. When his eyes met hers, Eric knew what had changed. Faery Sookie, having gotten what she wanted, had relinquished control to his Sookie. Her beautiful brown eyes looked at him in a haze of lust and confusion. Looking at her, and knowing it was her, released Eric of all inhibition he felt. He kissed her passionately, silencing her doubts, and let their bond be flooded with his happiness and mutual pleasure.

He held nothing back in this, what could be considered their first real round of love making. He could feel her building up, could feel her muscles begin to tighten, and abruptly slowed, deepening his thrusts. As the sun began to rise, he quickened his pace once more. Nothing mattered to him more, right now, than having her be the first thing he saw for his first sunrise in over a thousand years.

He didn't really count the Russell Edgington incident as his first sunrise – there wasn't a whole lot of time to enjoy it. She came hard, just as the sunlight graced her features, and pulled Eric in with her.

He let himself rest on top of her, carefully balancing his weight so as not to crush her, watched her come down. Her chest heaved, her breathing ragged. His head turned, ever so slightly, and watched the sun rise over the trees, before casting his gaze back on Sookie. She was looking at him now, and for a moment he feared her reaction.

He slid off of her to give her some breathing room, and took the time to look at her body in the sunlight as she came back to her mind. His fingers slid

between hers, and he pulled her body flush against his as they rested, nose to nose. She let out a tiny mewl of surprise, and Eric forced the chuckle back down his throat before she started spitting fire. Everything about them was twisted twined together; their hair, arms, legs…everything. He pulled her forward a little further and slid his arms around her, her head lying on his chest. Though the sunlight didn't burn him, he still felt the call to sleep, even as much as he wanted to ignore it.

As it turned out, it was unnecessary to worry about it. When he glanced back down at Sookie, he realized that her eyes were heavy and she was already halfway asleep. He covered them with a blanket and was duly rewarded when Sookie, now completely asleep, snuggled into the crook of his neck.

This was an experience he had never appreciated before, when he was alive. Not just seeing the sun rise with a lover, but to feel their hearts beat as one in a synchronized rhythm, the relative afterglow in the post-coital snuggle. His eyes closed slowly, the beating of their hearts lulling him to sleep. They could talk when they awoke, and, he had no doubt that they would talk. Sookie wouldn't have it any other way. His fingers threaded in her hair, gently stroking it.

His mark had been made; in the heat of the moment, Eric had neglected to heal the bite marks on her neck. Eric smirked. She was going to be furious, he knew, but that was fine by him. She had submitted to him, consented to be his, and he vowed that there would never be another time in her life when she wouldn't be marked as such. No one else would touch her. No other vampire would feed from her. No other man would experience what he had in his arms. She was his, and that's all there was to it.

She would see things his way eventually, but she was going to live his way starting immediately. She had a penchant for trouble, and keeping her out of it was his new project – it would only be successful if she was kept under his watch. His eyes grew heavy and he eventually succumbed to the Sun's call, sated in all the ways that mattered.

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><p>He wiped his hands on the towel his servant brought after using the washing basin to rinse his hands clean of the blood. He slipped his rings back on his fingers and gave a short, hard knock on the oaken door. The door opened instantly and the man left the room, whistling as he walked up the stairs.<p>

The old man would break soon, he was sure. He passed a mirror in the hall and grimaced; the fool had gotten blood on him. His breeches were stained, but could likely be cleaned. His shirt was beyond repair and would have to be burned. It hardly mattered, being covered in dirt and blood; he was still handsome. His dark hair was perpetually windswept, but kept short, unlike the rest of his court. His eyes were a rare hazel, a recessive trait among the Faery, and were called beautiful by some – who was he to argue? The servants that passed him in the halls dropped to their knees before him, as was their proper place, and he took pride in the fact that they were so well trained.

He reached his room and shut the door behind him, stripping off his clothes piece by piece. It was as he reached to hang his belt up that he noticed she was still asleep in his bed. He continued undressing as he observed her. Her hair was the color of honey wheat, her skin inexplicably fair. It was her eyes that he had the problem with. Many had called this woman a great beauty, and to many she was – but not to him. She was passable, to be sure, but her eyes lacked that essential fire that made his blood thrum. She could never compare to **_her_**.

God knows he had tried to make it work – had forced her to keep her eyes shut, even to keep her head down – but she could not compare. He could tell it wasn't her; her body would have scorched his skin; her spirit would not have broken. It should have been her! Her cycle would be upon her now, as it was everyone else. Had she Chosen, or had she let her silly human sentiments get the better of her and go into hiding?

He needed to know. He needed to find her. He had barely eaten, barely slept since he had met her. The midsummer's ball had been the first time the Seelie and Unseelie courts had convened in over three hundred years, since the split between Queen Titania and King Oberon. A war raged for the better part of two hundred and seventy years, until he came to their court. He was part human, common enough in the present day, but part Faery royalty, and he had taken the Seelie throne when no one else would – it was a death sentence. His name was Earl Stackhouse – now, High King Niall – and he had had enough of war.

He brought the war to a stand still, a stalemate, and talked the Queen of the Unseelie court into a truce. Finally, everything was settling down. And then she arrived. Everyone had been talking about the part human Faery granddaughter of Niall that had fled the human world in a moment of danger, but no one really said anything. Niall kept her hidden, and hidden well.

There were whispers about her intelligence, her wit, her charm, but nothing concrete. The only thing that was certain, was that her presence caused a disturbance in Niall's court. His Faery wife, a jealous woman of a fine pedigree (as was often the case), did not like the fact that a new heir had been introduced – one that was not beget of her bloodline. She attacked the girl when the girl was asleep, it's said, and tried to kill her. The girl fought her off and Queen Mab was forced to deal with the consequences of her actions, namely the fury of her husband. She had been banished to their castle in Winter, for it.

And then, Niall brought her to the ball. He had never desired someone more in his long life. Her beauty, her southern charm and sass… it all suited him. Of course, she refused him – it was only proper, for a lady of her stature and standing. But then she refused him again, and he got angry. By the third refusal, he decided to do something about it. He was, at one point in time, High King Brion Boru ofIreland– he could not be refused. Though he was merely a prince in the Faery world, for now, that did not mean that he was not still a king in every other way.

Brion crossed the room to look out the window as the sun began to rise, and waited, ever so patiently. His master at arms was hard at work; Niall was screaming louder, now. Brion had no doubt in his mind that he would learn of Sookie Stackhouse's whereabouts within the hour.

He turned back to observe the naked woman in his bed, and decided that she looked enough like Sookie to sate him until Sookie herself was found; She could help him while away the next hour or two until Niall divulged the location of his granddaughter. Honestly, what did the old man have to lose? By marrying him to Sookie, the courts would be united forever. No more war, ever. Of course there was that whole little matter about Sookie not wanting to be a game piece, but that didn't matter to _him_. Brion loved her with more passion and ferocity than he had ever felt before – she wasn't chattel to him, not at all, but he would use people who thought she was in order to obtain her. She would see things his way, in the end. She would have to.

Brion returned to his bed and ran his hands over her skin, lightly at first, to wake her. When she was awake and saw him, a smile crept onto her features in anticipation; Brion was nothing if not a generous lover.

Half an hour later, a sharp rap sounded on his door. The wanton woman writhing beneath him begged him not to stop, to let the door go unanswered, but he could hardly do so given the fact it was likely his master at arms with information of Sookie's location.

"Come in," He ordered, even as the woman huffed in irritation. She moved to cover herself but was stopped by Brion himself, who merely smirked and continued to thrust as his master at arms entered the room. She shrieked and tried to move away and save some dignity but was not allowed.

Had she been truly offended, Brion would have stopped immediately – she may have been a replacement for Sookie, but that did not mean she didn't deserve respect – but that was not the case, as she had only become more aroused when the master at arms entered. These sheltered courtiers all had their wicked little fetishes. Hers was, apparently, being watched.

"Your highness," The master at arms bowed, not even blinking at the sight before him. "Niall has given us her location."

"Excellent work, Donough. I want you to prepare for my departure; I leave within the hour." In less than two hours, Sookie Stackhouse would be in his arms.

He quickened the pace, deciding that he no longer desired the replacement when the real thing was so close. He would have her, if it was the last thing he did.

Nothing would stand in his way. He would make sure of it.

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><p><strong>An: So…yeah…Brion kind of took over that last bit. Not really sure what else to say aside from the fact that I kind of adore my villain. Some food for thought, though: Is Brion _really_ the villain? Maybe, maybe not. So soon said, we shall see.**

**In case anyone was more than curious about what Brion looks like, do a google image search of Jonathon Rhys Meyers Tudors. **

**A HUGE hug and platter of desserts must go to my new Beta, Rachael, who made this chapter fit for human eyes.**

**The lines that Eric whispered to Sookie in Swedish was actually a Swedish love poem, titled 'How Can I Tell' by Karin Boye.**

**Here is the English translation:**

How Can I Tell ...

How can I tell if your voice is beautiful.  
>I only know, that it penetrates me<br>and makes me shake like a leaf  
>and tears me to shreds and splits me.<p>

What do I know about your skin and limbs.  
>It makes me tremble that they are yours,<br>so for me there is no sleep or rest,  
>till they are mine<p>

**Review please! Muahahahaha!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you so much to all of my reviewers: Erin1705, bwtawny, sydkiwi, Gina, TB-Chelyk, writergirl89, livesimple, sluggysmom, Ericsfae, VALady, aprilshowers021, nordiclover, whitestripes123, Jezebelnhell, KaiaRay, xxxbulletxxx, Spygrrl, SVMReaderCH, IkeaGoddess, StarKiss666, and ncmiss12.**

**Again, a big hug and huge platter of…hmm…I suppose I should ask her what her favorite dessert is – let's just go with an cheesecake assortment tray – to Rachael, the wonderful, amazing Beta who puts up with my half-brained schemes and helps me make them work.**

**I love and appreciate all your guesses for the next chapter – whether you guess them right or wrong, I love the fact that you tried to crawl in my brain. Best of luck with that to everyone; my brain is one hell of a **_**scary**_** place, let me tell you!**

**There isn't a song choice for the chapter, as I think the tone **_**really**_** can't be mistaken.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 6: The Living Dead<span>

Sookie was the first to wake. She blinked, squinting against the dying sun, her long eyelashes brushing her cheeks. She was very, very warm and, as the fuzziness wore off, apparently very, very naked. As everything came into focus, she very quickly realized she wasn't alone. Her heart skipped a beat as she slowly let her eyes follow the limbs up to the face of their owner, who was none other than Eric Northman. She felt all the blood drain from her face. _She had __**slept**__ with Eric Northman?_ She had thought it was a dream, that maybe the reason she hadn't dreamt about him in a year was because she was in Faery and it somehow blocked the bond – he couldn't feel her presence, after all. His arms were anchored around her, and Sookie knew it would be futile to even try to get loose without him waking up, so she lay there. Logically, he'd already seen everything so it wasn't like things could get any worse.

'_What did you do?'_ She asked, trying to contact the Faery counterpart that was usually submerged in her subconscious.

'**I would think that's obvious.'** She replied.

'_How could you __**do**__ this? Do you have any idea what you've done? I'm the one that has to deal with him on a daily basis, not you!"_

'**Darling, I would **_**gladly**_** deal with him on a daily basis if you wanted me to.'**

'_I cannot believe you just said that. He's possessive and violent and a fucking vampire! You __**hate**__ vampires!'_

'**I do find them rather…annoying, sometimes, but I would happily suffer the company of Eric.'**

'_What did you __**do**__?'_

'**I saved our neck, that's what I did.'**

'_By having me sleep with him? You're just… un-fucking-believable!'_

'**Oh, stop whining. I did what I had to, to ensure our survival.'**

'_We would have been fine! We're in a tear in the Veil, in the middle of a forest, in the middle of Louisiana ! Out of all the places in the world, __**why**__ would he look here? He doesn't even know where we're from!'_

'**We don't know that for certain, and I wasn't going to take any chances. We were **_**vulnerable**_** until he came along – and you're lucky it was him! I didn't care who it was, so long as we had **_**someone**_**. In hindsight, I couldn't have hoped for better.'**

'_What, exactly, did you do?'_

'**You're starting to sound like a parrot. Would you like a **_**cracker**_**?'**

'_Shut up. You're not telling me everything – I know you're not. We're the __**same person**__, remember?'_

Silence.

'_Hello? Hey! Come back here!'_

She was gone; Sookie would get no more from her. She let out an exasperated huff and meditated on the pickle she was now in. She had, apparently, slept with Eric. Twice. The next time Sookie got a hold of her Faery subconscious, she was going to ring her neck – what the hell was with her, pulling her back into her body _while_ Eric was…well, doing what he was doing. That was just plain mean. Eric was never going to let her live this down. Speaking of Eric, he and she had some talking to do. How dare he sleep with her! He had to have known it wasn't her, but he did it anyway! It wasn't like Faery could have tricked him into thinking it was her…could she? Eric knew her better than that, she thought. She hoped. Oh, now she was all confused.

It wasn't until Sookie turned her head to look up at Eric, little rays of sunlight lighting up his face, that she realized the implications of it. The sun had risen, and set, and yet Eric was alive. _Fucking Faery!_ What _else_ did she do? Sookie knew, of course, that it would be possible to grant a vampire the magick to walk in the sun, but she had not expected to be able to do it yet. She'd barely had enough training to control her powers, let alone use them, and since when did she have the metaphorical juice to even do something like that? She had her tricks, sure, but nothing that _should_ have been strong enough to give him the power to walk in the sun.

It was as her head lay resting on his chest that she noticed what she had not before – his beating heart. All too quickly, Sookie could see the Faerys plan. She felt herself grow dizzy and nauseous. No, it simply wasn't possible. Eric was a vampire, she was human. It wasn't possible.

She gently removed his arm from her waist, and disentangled their legs. Upon making sure she was free, and he was still asleep, she picked up her sundress from where it lay pooled on the ground and folded it, stuffing it in her bag. She put her panties on first, being careful not to trip and stumble lest she fall among the cinders of the pyre from the night before, followed by her bra. She began to pull on her shirt, only to have it snatched out of her hands.

"Hey!" She reached to grab it from his grasp, only to have him tug it out of her reach. She lunged for it and had it in her finger tips when his arm, the arm she conveniently forgot about, slid under her thigh and hook it above his waist. Startled, she lost her balanced. Eric took advantage of the moment and let the shirt fall to the ground, using his free hand to hoist her other leg up around his waist. Sookie squeaked in discomfort, not liking where this was going at _all_.

"Eric," She began, ready to berate him, only to be stopped by being soundly kissed.

She leaned back as far as she could, despite her discomfort, and broke the kiss, glaring at him.

"Oh, Sookie," He sighed. "Must we start this already?"

"Eric, put me down."

He moved his head from side to side before stopping and to look her square in the eye and say, "No."

"Eric, we need to talk." Sookie was trying to reason with him; this was starting to go beyond uncomfortable.

"So, talk." He grinned at her, his fangs clicking. Sookie didn't jump when she saw them, but rather gave him a stern look. He rolled his eyes before letting his fangs retreat, wondering to himself how he ever got himself caught up with this girl.

"_Please_, let me down."

"What are you going to do when you get down?"

"Put some clothes on for starters," Sookie told him, thinking it would be obvious.

"Then _absolutely_ _unequivocally_ **no**." He grinned again.

Sookie was determined not to lose this battle and promptly unhooked her legs, not caring if she fell to the ground, but his hands were far too fast for her and all it took was one hand strategically placed on her ass to keep her where she was. Well, fine, if that's the way he wanted to play, so be it. Sookie let her hand rest on his chest before summoning her magick – in one, short burst of energy, Eric was sent flying backwards. Sookie fell to the ground, hard, but not nearly as hard as Eric had. He snarled at her from his position on the ground.

"Don't you take that tone of growl with _me_, Eric Northman! I asked you nicely and you refused," Sookie said, promptly standing with her hands on her hips. "Now, we can talk about this like adults, or I can drop you from the veil in the mortal world and you won't be able to _see_ me let alone grope me again for another week." Wait, did she just _offer_ to let him grope her, or…? The lines were a little blurred, on that one… Sookie decided to ignore it.

Abruptly, the growling stopped, and in its place was, at first, a chuckle. Eric tried to cough it down, and ignore it, but it didn't work; instead, it turned into full blown laughter. Sookie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Are you finished yet?"

Eric was still smirking, though the laughter had ceased. "Did you just threaten me?"

"Eric, when I threaten you, there won't be a question about it." Sookie said in a no-nonsense tone.

"Right," He smothered another chuckled. "So, what is it you want to talk about?"

Oh, what she wouldn't give to just wipe that smirk off of his face. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, uneasy. "I need you to tell me what happened last night."

He paused, his smile waning. "Come again?"

Sookie gritted her teeth and repeated herself "I need you to tell me what happened last night, all of it."

"You don't remember?"

"I wasn't present." Faery Sookie kept her quite out of the loop, as a matter of fact – something they would have words about later, when she wasn't sulking.

"I don't understand; you live in the same body."

"Yes, but one of us usually has dominance over the other,"

"Yes," Eric interrupted. "She told me that. Does that mean that while one of you has dominance, the other is completely shut out?"

If he'd let me finish, he would know by now, she thought.

"Not always, no. Most of the time, even though only one of us controls the body, we share our mind. Last night, she decided it would be best for me not to have control of either." Bitch.

"Ah, I see," He circled around her too quickly for her eyes to process, and his hands were running up and down her side, too sensually for Sookie's taste. "How about I _show_ you what we did last night, instead."

He wasn't asking. Sookie peeled his hands off of her and turned to face him. "You're not getting anywhere with me by being a pig, and for God's sake, may I _please_ put some clothes on?"

The thought registered that she had just asked for his permission, and she felt bile rise in her throat. Why had she felt obligated to do that? Not waiting for a response, and intending to brush off the fact that she had just asked him to do something as simple as put some damn clothes on, she turned her back on him and began searching for the shirt she had dropped earlier. She could feel his gaze on her back but did not rise to the bait and turn around. She slipped her shirt on over her head and searched through the duffel until she found the pair of shorts she was looking for. She pulled them on quickly, not willing to give Eric any more ammo than he already had.

"Now then," She turned around. "What happened last night?"

"We made love until the sun rose."

That smirk was _really_ starting to irritate her, but she decided to ignore it. "What else?

"Your Faery and I made a deal."

Uh-oh. That's what she'd been afraid of. "Which was?"

"Sookie, what happened in Faery?"

"We're not talking about that right now. I'm more concerned with what she got me in to."

"She asked for my help in keeping you safe during your Lunar Cycle."

She _talked_ to him about that? That was personal! "We would have been fine."

"Not according to her. Why do you have to be so _stubborn?_" His tone of voice had deepened and now rumbled with an undercurrent of anger and desperation. "You couldn't just swallow your pride and tell me what was going on? No! You had to pick a fight with me and run away!"

"I didn't tell you because it wasn't _any_ of your business!"

"Well," He paused, calming down, and looked at her with calculating eyes. "It's my business now."

"Why, because we _slept_ together?" She knew he was going to hang that over her head.

"No, because you're _**mine**_ and it's my job to know."

"Oh, we're not going to have this conversation _again_, are we? _**I am not yours!**_"

Eric snarled, a primal roar creeping its way out of his throat. He was on her in the next instant, too quickly for her to throw up her defenses, and his hand slid to the back of her neck. "Yes, you are!" Before she had a chance to get her land legs back, her mind and soul were overrun by emotions; anger, hurt, desperation, adoration. The sheer strength of each emotion was enough to knock the wind out of her, and she shuddered, at first from the tidal wave of feelings, and then from the realization that he was stroking her neck with the pad of his thumb. He was stroking the _bite marks_ on her neck with the pad of his thumb.

"Why?" She asked in a whisper. "Why would she do this?" She stepped back out of his grasp, upset. Eric cocked his head to the side, angry with her for denying what they were, but wanting to make her feel better at the same time – how could he do that, when he was the one she was upset with?

"It is regrettable that you are upset, but this is for the best."

Sookie turned her head to look at him in disbelief. "For the _best?_ What part of having **no** say in my life, is for the _best_? I was pulled back into _my _body after she, and _**you**_, got what you wanted from me."

"Don't say that!" Eric all but bellowed. "That is no where near the truth!"

"Truth is a matter of perception, Eric," Sookie was calm now, angry, but calm. "Thisis the unpleasant reality of what happened: You, and she, took advantage of situation in which I was vulnerable. What _**else**_?"

"I agreed to abide by Faery Laws as they applied to us."

"Faery laws?" Sookie asked, confused. "Why would it matter if _you_ had to abide by…" She trailed off as her mind made a few intuitive leaps. Swaying on her feet, Sookie made her way to the mess of blankets, Eric's hand pressed reassuringly on her back.

"Sookie?"

She ignored him. "It's not possible… She couldn't have…" Though strictly speaking, Vampires _weren't_ really dead. They were the living dead, which made more sense. Their change from human to supernatural occurred when their mortal lives were on the brink of death, but not dead _yet_. Combine that fact with a beating heart to get the blood circulating and waking things up…but no, surely not. Eric was over one thousand years old as the living dead – that had to count for something, right? A few minutes of blood circulation wouldn't be enough, would it? But, oh _God_, what if it was?

Sookie had always believed in God, always held firm in her faith, and had been forced to maintain that God worked in mysterious ways to improve the lives of his flock – she had to, in order to move past the death of her parents, and grandmother, and all of the bad things that had happened in her life. God sought to teach His children to earn their way into heaven, though they were going to be accepted anyway, to better their lives on Earth. Sometimes this was by rewarding them with something that they had earned by being good neighbors and Christians, and other times it was by punishing them, so they could do better in the future. For all of Sookie's musings on why God had done what He'd done with her life to make it better, it had never occurred to her that God would be _fucking crazy enough to think that having the child of a murderous, violent Viking Vampire_ would do the trick!

Was this supposed to be a punishment or reward, anyway? Sookie couldn't tell. A child was always a miracle, but the Viking that came _with_ the child… And then, there was that; her Faery counterpart had gone _way_ overboard on ensuring their safety, if she succeeded. Faery Law was very cut and dry when it came to children and marriage – screw whoever you like, but if you get pregnant, you're getting married. Abiding by Faery law meant that Eric was one hundred percent responsible for the mental, physical, and financial welfare of both her and their child. It also meant that he could never love another, in the most puritanical, biblical sense. Having sex with any other woman aside from her, out of the confines of necessity on the grounds of procreation, would be grounds for punishment – maybe even death, depending on the severity of the offense.

Above all of that, worse than all of that, was that Sookie wasn't sure how she felt about all of this. In her year in Faery, she had spent _weeks _preparing what she was going to say to Bill and how she would react to his presence, but she hadn't thought about what to say to Eric. Of course, that's not to say she didn't _think_ about him, but he was something of a second priority in comparison to Bill – Eric hadn't betrayed her. And then she came back, and it was _Eric_ who was waiting for her return, not Bill. It was Eric who had bought her house and used his stupid vampire logic to assume that meant she was his. She was attracted to him, she could admit that, and she didn't find his personality unlikable, by any means. He had helped her, had paid her generously for services rendered… He had a kind of sweetness about him when no one was looking, and he felt something for her.

It was hard to remember that fact, when he did and said so many archaic things that make her sound dependent and weak, when he tried to control her life. It was hard to remember the desperation and adoration she felt when he kissed her for the first and, what he thought to be the last, time, when he prepared to meet Russell Edgington and the True Death. He was selfish, and violent, and diabolical, and terribly clever. He was kind, and generous, and loving, and protective, and smart; and he was hers, now, as much as she was his. She had spent so much time and energy being angry with him that, that particular thought hadn't occurred to her until now. He was _hers_. The gravity of the realization hit her hard and she barely had time to give him a heads up.

"I need some time to think," She whispered, moving away from him.

And she promptly dropped him from the Veil and left him in the mortal world. She just needed some time to think, without his constant presence to influence her. He would forgive her, eventually. He always did.

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><p><strong>An: Poor Sookie…all confused and being completely circumvented by, well, herself. Poor Eric, who has to deal with the emotional mess that the likes of Bill Compton left behind. Poor Brion, for being picked on by you guys for being the 'villain' – which I never confirmed nor denied. I think the only one who's really getting amusement out of this is Faery Sookie.**

**So comments on… Faery Sookie/Brion **_**not**_** showing up in two hours/Sookie's emotional flip-flopping? I think y'all are going to get a kick out of next chapter… Reviews are like... some illicit, illegal drug to me. Feed the addict!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers: erin1705, nordiclover, livesimple, SVMReaderCH, xxxbulletxxx, Ericsfae, sydkiwi, vikingtrubie, ncmiss12, foxgodess07, Hanabella Louise, SuperK4141, Alottalove, aprilshowers021, EN426, bbet, sluggysmom, Queen of Night, ebm1, writergirl89, tbloodlover1000, Cante, Gina, bwtawny, VALady, IkeaGoddess, Thorsminion, StarKiss666, Spygrrl, RockBouvier21, Kerriki, whitestripes123, KaiaRay, Anna-Rogue-Marie-Howlett, Rhiannon-shaxton, E-NorthmanzLuvR , sweetdamage, racecz5, Aria Night, Evie, and OzzyKomaKozzy.**

**So, my version of Sookie is a little bitchy, I admit, but there is a reason for it. I took the time to read other True Blood fanfics before I started writing this, and the one thing that I consistently disliked was how quickly Sookie always fell in love with Eric, or vice versa. While this is AU, I want it to keep base with what's going on in the Show as far as personality is concerned. Thus far, apart from the dreams, the history between Sookie and Eric has been kind of limited. There were a few touching moments, but nothing concrete to affirm any kind of relationship - this is where we're picking up. This is the beginning to, on Sookie's part, a **_**very **_**reluctant relationship.**

**Also, I apologize if this wasn't clear in the last chapter, Sookie and Eric pretty much slept clean through the day since they were both up…all…night…yeah. It's dusk by the time they wake up and Eric get's dropped back into the human world.**

**Oh! RACECZ5, and EVIE, you two get a cookie. You were the only ones to see it, haha.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p>Eric reached for Sookie as she moved away from him but his fingers closed around air. He blinked; he hadn't moved, but she was gone. He squinted against the dying rays of the sun and felt a brief moment of concern but was pleasantly surprised to feel the warmth without the burn. He immediately thought of Russell Edgington and how warm the sun had felt before it began to smolder. He remembered laying there, the silver poisoning him as the sun scorched him. He had resolved to die, as he had one thousand years ago before Godric came to him. One thousand years when the damned Irish had turned the tides against him and pushed his army back. Russell Edgington had done the same but Eric had the opportunity to return the favor, unlike one thousand years ago. His eyes had been on the sun, fluttering open and closed as Godric's spirit spoke to him, because it was the last thing he wanted to see.<p>

And then she came. She had tried to reason with him first, to convince him to abandon his mad crusade against the man who inadvertently stole his mortal life, and come back inside. He couldn't have even if he wanted to, so he told her to leave – she shouldn't have to watch him die. But she didn't leave him. She forced her magic to break the chain and dragged him back inside. The problem was, Russell's death no longer held any honor without him dying as well – especially since he would have to suffer the consequences for his death by the Authority – so he had Sookie drag him in as well. Plausible deniability was a _beautiful_ thing. If they asked him if they knew anything about Russell's whereabouts, Eric could truthfully tell them that the last time he saw him, Russell was alive.

Now he was in a _real_ predicament. Sookie was being extremely stubborn and unreasonable, in his opinion. If she were anyone else, doing and saying the same things, he would have laughed at their stupidity. But this wasn't stupidity – it was insecurity and a troubled upbringing. Her poor experience with Compton had left her resorting to the most basic of all human's defenses: eradication. You have a problem with something, find the cause and get rid of it. In her mind, the cause of her problems was a Vampire presence in her life. What she was doing was biologically ingrained in her, and completely understandable – that didn't make it any less irritating. She had now cast him out of the Veil and left herself completely defenseless, because she needed to _think_. Well, fine, so be it. She would have to come out sooner or later, and he would sense her when she did.

Despite his understanding her reaction, he had had enough of letting her have her way. He had done little more than make arrangements for her safety and well being, and his, all of which he was completely honest and upfront about, and now she had left him no choice but to go behind her back. Perhaps that would suit her better – not seeing the strings that made her life dance. The first order of business, then, was to see Sam Merlotte. That shifter boss of hers, who also happened to be completely in love with her, would take Eric's side whether he liked it or not. It hardly took him any time to reach the bar, which was beginning to fill up. He entered through the front door, observing the general hustle and bustle. _These_ were the people Sookie had grown up with, these drunks and uneducated hicks? He shook his head. No wonder she'd had such a hard time growing up in this town.

He slid into a barstool, waiting for Sam to appear. The sun was still setting, the sky a dull haze of orange in the horizon. The current bartender, who Eric recognized as slightly _off_, asked him what he wanted to drink with an air of discomfort. Eric opened his mouth to order a True Blood, but paused for a moment and decided not to alert the human that he was a vampire – it would cause an uproar among them, a Vampire out of doors before the sun set. He shook his head and asked to speak to the owner. He was told, rather gruffly, that Sam was busy. Not wanting to wait, Eric nodded and went around the bar to the back, where he knew the shifter's office to be. He opened the door without knocking, smirking as the shifter turned to see who it was and promptly dropped the case of beer he was holding.

"What the _fuck_?"

"Well, hello to you too Sam." He chuckled, enjoying watching all the blood drain from the shifter's face.

"How…How is this _possible_?"

Eric grinned. "Sooke is a very special girl, Sam,"

The change was immediate. The pallor Sam had dawned when he saw Eric, during the day, changed into a deep red, his eyes flashing with fury. "If you've done _anything to her, so help me God, I will stake you where you stand!_"

Eric cocked his head to the side, watching the expression and tone morph at the prospect of Sookie being hurt. Good. That would making things earlier. "Put your pencil away, Shifter. She's fine," Physically. Emotionally…

"Then what did you mean by crediting her with this new found ability?"

"Why Sam, I do believe you're nervous."

"Gee," He snapped "A vampire that can walk in the sun. Why would I be nervous?"

Eric smiled, enjoying the reaction. "I credited Sookie with my ability because I give credit where it's due. Sookie is part Faery, and –"

"Wait, what?"

"Faery. She's a faery. Now, Sam, I had taken you for more intelligent than this," Well, no, not really, but it wouldn't do well to insult Sam when Eric was going to ask him for aid in the next twenty seconds… On second thought, it didn't matter if the shifter didn't like it; he was ordering, not asking. "I'm a vampire standing in the back-room office of a bar run by a man who can change into animals at will. Your town was taken over by a Maenad a year ago. Why wouldn't there be other things out there?"

"Well, yeah, sure, but _Faeries_?"

"Yes, Faeries. Sookie is one of them and she has temporarily granted me the ability to walk in the sun." He paused, trying to decipher the look on Sam's face. "Why do you look so confused?"

"I'm trying to figure out when the hell that girl got so damned stupid!"

"She's not stupid," Stubborn, willful, irrational – yes, but not stupid. "It wasn't really her, anyway. It was her Faery alter-ego." Sam was looking at him like he had just gotten off the crazy train. Well, maybe he had. It sounded far-fetched, even to him. Regardless of Sam's disbelief, Eric didn't care – the shifter would help him anyway. "And it's only temporary, as I understand it. One week, one time only deal."

He could see Sam's shoulders visibly relax. "Alright, supposing I believe you – and seeing you walk in the sun really doesn't give me much of a choice – what do you want from me?"

Eric sighed. "I am _tired_ of Sookie being stubborn and putting herself needlessly in harms way. She sees someone in trouble and just _can't_ mind her own business,"

Sam eyed him with obvious distaste. "Believe me, I know."

The corners of Eric's mouth instinctively began to tug upward – so this is where Sookie's smart mouth was encouraged. He certainly doubted that she would be half so willful had it not been propagated by the shifter and her friends. "She got herself into some trouble while she was away,"

"Of course she did." Sam was pinching the bridge of his nose, and rifled through a desk drawer to pull out a bottle of Aspirin. "Keep talking."

'I can't. She won't tell me exactly what she's done. I only know that she's gotten herself into trouble and only returned to Bon Temps because it was a good, comfortable hole she could climb in."

Sam ignored the hidden insult. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Keep an eye on her, a _better_ eye on her than you have in the past. I don't know who our new enemy is and that disturbs me almost as much as knowing she's gotten herself into something again. And," Eric hesitated before he said the next sentence, reluctant to bring a shifter into Vampire affairs. "You need to keep Compton away from her."

Sam's eyebrows were raised, his eyes boring into Eric's. "Bill Compton moved to New Orleans right after Sookie disappeared."

"He'll be back, now that she is. I would imagine the Queen is keeping him close at hand for his failure, but she will let him go for this – for her."

"And? Bill's never hurt Sookie before."

"Sookie was _his_ before, and now she's not, and so she is going to make his life a great deal more difficult. Bill…doesn't respond well to things he doesn't predict. He doesn't plan ahead, and as a result reacts to everything without thinking them through. When he learns that Sookie is _mine_ he will try and take her by force, maybe even attempt to kill me first so it will be legal by Vampire law."

"You're his superior though, politically, and older than him, right?"

"Yes, but he has the ear of the Queen and there is _no_ telling how far she will take this to acquire Sookie, and I can't give it my full attention because Sookie's got her own problems to deal with."

"If they're Sookie's problems, why don't you let her handle them? She's more than capable, and she's going to be spitting fire when she finds out you've gone behind her back to enlist her friends to spy on her."

"**If** she finds out. And why were you angry when she came back after being _gone_ for a year?"

"I wasn't. I'm just..." He trailed off, an odd look coming over his face. "Happy that she's home safe and sound."

Eric cocked his head to the side. If he didn't know any better, he would say this man had been glamoured, were it not for the presence of his mind rather than the absence of it. Eric's mouth turned down into a slightly irritated grimace. Sookie was keeping things from him again, still. But, that was to be expected. She hadn't grasped what being _his_ meant for her yet. She would, given time. For a millisecond, Eric harkened to the days of old when one could just throw a woman over your shoulder and chain her in your castle. But things wouldn't be nearly so fun that way.

"I see. Well, now that she's home, _safe and sound,_" He couldn't help but mock the shifter a little. "Let's try and keep her that way, even despite her best efforts," Eric turned to leave before turning back. "I'll have a True Blood in a wine-glass, if you don't mind. The last thing I want right now is for people to know I'm a vampire that can walk in the sun."

Sam nodded and turned back to his desk, beginning to stack the paperwork. Eric left him in peace and returned to the bar, his eyes scanning the crowd for Compton or his annoying-as-fuck prodigy. There was no trace of either, and Eric let himself relax and gently reach out to stroke their bond – it pulsed beneath him, but lay dormant. He couldn't open it. Well, that was interesting. So, she could block him out. Sam returned from the back, wine glass already in hand, and set it before him discreetly, giving him no more attention than any other customer. It made Eric pleased to know that he had made the right decision in not killing him outright when he had found out about the dog-to-naked-man-on-the-end-of-her-bed incident. Eric was nothing if not possessive, and he didn't like anyone else _knowing_ what was his, in the biblical sense. Sookie's telepathy and consequent celibacy was a blessing – it meant he had fewer people to kill. Bill Compton was going to die for this transgression, though he didn't know it yet. Eric was merely waiting for an excuse, and he had forever to wait.

A man slid into the seat next to him, looking well worn and beaten down. His jeans were stained by the grass and dirt, ripped at the bottom on both legs though they looked to be brand new. His tan suede jacket was likewise dirty. Eric didn't know who the man was, or particularly care, but he was bored and likely had a few more hours, by his estimation, before Sookie returned from the Veil.

"You look like you've had a rough day," Eric commented, sipping his 'wine'.

"Oh, you've no idea." The man ordered three consecutive shots of whiskey and slammed them all, one after the other. Eric noted he had an undertone of an Irish brough and waited to see if the man would talk. When he didn't, Eric decided to push a little further.

"You and me both," Always offer information about yourself after you ask something personal: It makes the person you're talking to, subconsciously, feel a bond with you and will speak more openly with you. Eric had always found the human Psyche to be fascinating.

The man looked at him. "Girl trouble?"

"Isn't it always?" Eric asked carefully, following the mans response as a springboard.

He snorted into his fourth shot. "Mm. Certainly seems that way,"

Huh. So, this man guarded his words carefully. That was an interesting thing to do, when making _small talk_ with a stranger. Despite himself, Eric was intrigued and gave the man another piece of information. "Yeah, my girl just can't seem to stay out of trouble."

"Mine either. She got into some trouble with my family and took off without another word."

"Really?" Eric's eyebrows raised; runaway bride?

"Yeah. I tried to tell her that it was nothing, that it didn't matter what they thought and that I would take care of them."

"She didn't believe you?"

"She didn't give me a chance, just took off."

"To here?" What _was_ this town, anyway? A geographic hotspot for the supernatural and hidey-hole for wayward women who didn't want to be found?

"Apparently." He let out a noise of frustration and began to gesture wildly. "_Why_ does she have to be so damn stubborn and willful?"

"Why, indeed?" Eric nodded. "Mine as well. Why can't they just understand, that everything we do, we do for them?"

He nodded furiously. "Exactly! We do, and do, and _do_ for them. It's our responsibility to take care of them, after all. Of course, they're modern and independent, and don't _need_ us, but that was never the point! We love them - it's only right that we should take care of them."

"But they never think of it that way," Ever.

"No, they don't," He paused to take a drink.

"Could the assumption be made, then, that the reason you're covered head-to-toe in swamp is this girl?"

"Damn right. Her family owns some property out here, _somewhere._ I spent the entire day stomping through the fuckin' bayou to find the damn place with no luck."

"If I knew the area better, I would help you. Shreveport is my home. You could try asking some of the locals, maybe. Drop her last name around - if it's a family home, I'm sure someone will know."

"That's a good idea. I think I'll try that, seeing as I'm not terribly keen on trekking through that swamp again."

Eric nodded and felt his spine tingle; Sookie was back on his radar. She must have left the Veil. "Well, it's been a pleasure talking with you..." He trailed off, realizing he'd never gotten the mans name.

"Brion. Brion Boru."

"Eric Northman," It was only polite.

"Well, Eric Northman, I hope to see you around. It'd be nice to have a friend in this strange place while I try and romance my girl to come home with me."

"I wish you the best of luck," Eric slapped a fifty on the counter for his True Blood, leaving the shifter a generous tip. Eric gave Brion a genteel nod and exited. He and the man had much in common - so, the question was, why didn't he like him?

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><p><strong>AN: Heheh...I've had that scene planned out in my head since the beginning. **

**Great job once again to my Beta, Rachael, and for every review you leave please leave Rachael a piece of cheesecake (or maybe personalize it, and make it your favorite dessert). Reviews please! **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/n: Thank you to all of my wonderful readers, and reviewers: Sydkiwi, foxgodess07, whitestripes123, IkeaGoddess, StarKiss666, , VAlady, ArmyGirl2010, ebm1, erin1705, Thorsminion, sluggysmom, Ericsfae, desireecarbenell, kerriki, Evie, Megan Consoer, Gina, footychick, KaiaRay, Spygrrl, yummogrl22, OzzykomaKozzy, ncmiss12, Anna-Rogue-Marie-Howlett, Rhiannon-shaxton, and Queen of Night.**

**So…now you get to see what Sookie was thinking about during the two hours (roughly) that Eric was strong-arming Sam and conversing with Brion. As to the few Sookie/Brion fans out there, I was thinking of (maybe, after this story is finished) writing a fic which highlights what went on in Faery during the year she was absent. Any interest?**

**Note: This chapter has not been approved by Rachael, the amazing Beta. I felt bad for not updating for three days (shuffles feet) and decided to post it as-is. And then there was a document mishap last chapter where Rachael edited my mistakes and I got the documents confused as to which one was the before/after Rachael and… posted the wrong one…and…yeah….hence the mistakes, lol.**

**ANYWAY, this chapter is semi-plot heavy if you pay attention to it. Next chapter, like chapter seven, is mostly for comedic purposes but **_**does**_** supply you with information as well.**

**Thanks so much to everyone for leaping over the 200 hundred review mark! You are all supermegafoxyawesomehot and fantabulisticulous! ^^**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 8: Things to Think About<span>

Sookie dozed in the blankets, her eyes on the wisps of clouds in the orange sky. She hadn't done this since she was a child, a little girl who wanted nothing more than to run around outside at dusk and catch lightning bugs. Her goal wasn't to catch little bugs and put them in a mason jar for a night light as they slowly died (of course, you don't think about that when you're little). No, her goal tonight was to process, and recollect, and focus. She had a chip on her shoulder two miles high, and an elephant on her chest, and she needed to get rid of it all. Where to begin? Unfortunately, there was no clear-cut beginning, middle, and end to her story; the beginnings merged into middles, middles merged into ends, and the ends merged right back into beginnings. She could try and start working through the issues beginning from when she entered Faery, but that was a whole years worth of issues and she really didn't have time for that. Perhaps she could focus on one topic at time? That might take.

It was clear, when that thought occurred to her, the order of the issues she needed to work through: First, her Faery, second, Eric, and third, the possibility of a baby. She hadn't always had a nagging inner voice. Excluding the part about being a telepath, she really was rather sound of mind. No, Faery Sookie showed up during her visit to the Underground (the proper name for the Faery Realm). It wasn't as clear cut as 'one day she had a voice in her head'. No, the Faerys presence had come about slowly. She had always existed, apparently, but never _lived_ until Sookie needed her. And, in the Underground, need her she did. Sookie was too innocent to fit in well among Faery society, too open-minded. It was a _very_ different climate – one that had Sookie yearning to return to the mortal world.

Occasionally, Sookie remembered hearing whispers of advice in her mind – which fork to eat with, which Council member to gain favor with, how to dance a Faery Waltz. It never bothered her, really. Never even occurred to her there was another presence in her mind. She thought it was her lessons, coming back to her memory when she needed them. How silly! Then, when Queen Mab had attacked her, her Faery had taken complete control of her body and fought Mab off. Sookie had never been more surprised in her life. To be sleeping soundly, wake to the sound of sword being drawn from a sheath, and then be tossed into the recesses of your mind was a lot to handle for the space of ten seconds. After the incident was over, and Sookie had taken control of her body once more, her Faery made her presence known. She had thought herself crazy – hearing voices was _never_ a good thing. When she brought it up to Niall, he had looked as puzzled as she, until three days later when he came back with an answer.

She could remember the explanation with perfect clarity.

"_Being a Faery is more than just being a supernatural creature. You are, simultaneously, a mortal human, an immortal animal, and a divine being. The aspect of __**you**__ that is human provides your conscience, and your logic. The aspect of you that is animal is your Fae descent. The Fae were primal creatures who cared little for logic or sense and cared only for revelry and other primal urges – they felt very deeply and everything they did, they did in excess. When they fought, it was war. When they had sex, it was orgy. When they mourned, they cried rivers of tears. Human in appearance, they lived abnormally long lives and lived them in total abandon. The aspect of you that is divine, well…" _

_Niall paused, seeking a way to phrase it without offending his Christian granddaughter. "While there is only one God reigning in heaven, there were hundreds of lesser Gods, and few of those sat on His divine council. If you look in your bible, at Psalm 82, it mentions them, and what happened to them. God was angry with them, you see, for though it was their duty to tend to mankind, they tended to whomever they damn well wanted to – in many cases, not people that deserved it. He was disappointed that for how long they had walked this Earth and eaten its fruit, they understood nothing of their task,"_

_He paused to take a drink of some mead, seeming to enjoy the suspense he was leaving her in. "And so he cast them down from the heavens and said 'You are 'gods'; you are all Sons of the Most High. But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.' And they were banished from the heavens, and in their place were sentinels – angels, Gods personal army. These once-upon-a-time Gods were no longer immortal, but they still had their powers yet and used them to extend their lives well past that of a human. They fell, they died, true, but not for thousands of years. In their new state of hell, as many thought of it, they succumbed to all that the Earth provided – everything they could not enjoy before. They bred with the Fae, and so born are the Faery – children of an Animal, and a Divine being. If there was every any humanity introduced into the bloodline, it was very little."_

"_You must understand that we live a very long time, have magic at our fingertips, and have no self-control. We eat what we want, sleep where we want, take what we want, and fuck what we want. Our divine blood and Fae blood have long since reconciled and become one with each other in perfect harmony. You, have not."_

"_What do you mean?" She asked, not letting his bluntness bother her – it was the way all Faeries were._

"_You have a lot of human in you, Sookie, more human than Faery, in fact. Your human nature makes you conscious of your actions, logical – meanwhile, your Faery side is trying to make you let go of all that consciousness and logic and just have fun. The two sides are so at war with each other, in your mind and body, that there are, more or less, two Sookies. Only when you bring your human and Faery together in one state of being will __**you**__ be in complete control. If you are threatened, the Faery may force you out as she is the primal creature in you – it is her concern that all your needs are sated; food, water, sex, and safety. Faery Sookie's needs will __**always**__ come first."_

So, Faery Sookie had taken care of her needs because she wouldn't. She had locked herself away during her lunar cycle with the intention of not having sex, and Faery Sookie saw two needs that needed to be met: Sex, and safety. Allowing Eric to Claim her would provide her safety from any other vampires, both physically and politically. Faery Sookie didn't care about the repercussions of it – personal sex slave and livestock included – so long as she was safe. And, now that Sookie was thinking rationally, it made sense that Faery Sookie wouldn't care about the repercussions; they both brought on pleasure. Selfish, illogical, primal bitch. The only way to get rid of her was to merge her human mind and Faery mind, and Sookie had no idea how to do that. She'd add that to the list of things that Niall had failed to inform her of before he sold her like chattel.

_That_ issue would be dealt with later – it wasn't a priority, right now. Next issue on the agenda was none other than: Eric Northman, Vampire Sheriff of Area 5, Viking, and…lover? When she had left the mortal world for Faery, it had been with the intention of forgetting Bill and all of the problems he had brought with him – Eric included. It had all made sense the night she left, the reason why Eric kept urging her not to trust Bill. Had things not turned out the way they had, had Bill not tried to murder Eric, Sookie could probably say with conviction that Eric would have told her. He didn't want to be the one to tell her, to hurt her in such a way. He had intended on making Bill tell her, and for it Bill had silenced him – had dared to try and kill his superior, because he was a possessive motherfucker and didn't want his wrongdoings brought to light.

Though she wavered even in thinking it, she knew with absolute certainty that he and Lorena _deserved_ each other. Lying, cheating bastard. But this wasn't about him, Sookie reminded herself, this was about Eric. She had been angry with him too, for being the one to tell her the horrible reality of Bill's presence in her life, but it was a shallow, hollow anger. She had never really been angry with _him_, but he was an easy scapegoat. Now, Faery Sookie had seen fit to act in their best interest and not only sleep with Eric, and potentially impregnate them with his child, but also let him claim her.

They had their hooks in him – and he didn't even know it yet. He thought he was in control, that _he_ had claimed _her_, when in reality it was very much the other way around. By vampire law, any human claimed by a vampire was theirs to do with as they saw fit – eating, fucking, turning – no matter what the human wanted. By Faery law, if a woman begets a child by a man they were to be bonded in matrimony, blood, and magic. They were responsible for the well-being of their child and spouse, and were forever more completely unable to be with any other so long as their spouse was able to fulfill their marital duties.

It made women's lives complete hell, if they were raped – to be forever bound to your rapist – or lost themselves in the heat of the moment to the cute stable boy. Faery Sookie had told her, in confidence, that she didn't care who she had chosen so long as they were occupied for their Lunar Cycle. She lied with a grain of truth interwoven in the tapestry. She didn't care who occupied her time during their Cycle – that being said, she would not have allowed any many but Eric to beget a child with her.

The fates had smiled on Faery Sookie when Eric followed their scent through the woods, and Sookie knew it was all over before he even entered the Veil. Eric was powerful, handsome, and wealthy – and literally one of the strongest creatures on the planet. She had made a prison for us, and she had chosen well. We would never escape from him now, couldn't escape from him until death do us part. So, that having been dealt with, Sookie was left with the conclusion that there wasn't much she could actually _do_.

Internally, she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't like being owned, or having her spouse think that she would bend so easily to his whims, but that could be worked on through mutual love and respect. Love? Was he capable of love? For one thousand years his heart had not beat for anyone, or anything, until today when it beat for her – at the whim of a Faery. _She_ doubtless found the irony amusing and was likely having a good laugh at both of them.

Sookie was now faced with the very tangible reality that she was spending the rest of her life with Eric – and perhaps, if he so desired it, the rest of eternity as well. Could she handle that? She would never want for anything, that much was certain, until he tired of her. She was just an uneducated waitress in a little backwater town in Louisiana, of all places – she could hardly hold his interest for long. And what then? He was bound to her now, by Faery law, until death parted them. Part of that law required him to be completely faithful to her, or otherwise be celibate. Would he not just kill her when he tired of her, and break their bond?

That was common enough in Faery. A man gets saddled with a maid he got with child, lets the child be born, and then the mother has an 'accident'. Poof. No maid to hinder his lust. Sookie was scared of what would happen when he tired of her, of what would happen to their child. Of course, this all depended on her _having_ a child. She still didn't know she was actually pregnant – though it could be assumed that Faery Sookie wouldn't take any chances, and may have even introduced a Faery fertility spell into the mix.

If push came to shove, and she hoped it didn't, she could, hypothetically, kill him if he ever came after her. Her heart sickened at the very thought; she didn't like killing and death, and even less the killing of a man who had been kind to her. But she could do it. If the time ever came when he tired of her and decided to rid himself of her, she would not go down easily – she had a year of combat and magic training in Faery, by Faery, who were the mortal enemies of Vampires. She could hold her own.

Her stomach clenched at the turn of thought. She shook herself out of that particular train of thought and moved on to her final topic: Their baby. Her hands unconsciously came to rest on her stomach. She had always wanted to be a mother, had always dreamed of what it would be like to hold a child in her arms that she could call her own. Given her gift of telepathy, human men were completely off limits, and until Bill that meant men in general. Being with a vampire had opened her intimate life up – but still withheld the possibility of having a family.

Then, she went to Faery, and her options opened up once more. She could read a Faerys thoughts if she tried hard enough, but they were typically just as silent as Vampires. She could let her guard down because _they_ didn't. She had to push to get into their minds. During her year in Faery, she had caught the attention of several men, both as a woman and Niall's granddaughter. The prospect of having both a partner and a family had appealed to her so much, Sookie could readily admit to herself that she had allowed herself to be courted.

Her grandfather had seen this desire, and decided to take matters into his own hands by pushing an arranged courting between her and Prince Damian. He had all but sold her, and caused her to flee Faery. And then, of course, there was Brion. But this wasn't the time to worry about him.

Now was the time for her to consider the fate of her child. Would it be a boy, or a girl? Would it have her eyes, or his? They would be blonde. That was one thing she knew for certain. Would they be more Faery, or human, or Vampire? Would they be cursed with Telepathy as she was? She just didn't know. The Faery had royally screwed things up biologically by choosing to mate with a Vampire. The baby wasn't quite tangible yet, anyway. She would cross that bridge when there was _actually_ a bridge to cross.

Now that all of it had been sorted through mentally, she and Eric needed to have a chat. Sookie stood up and brushed herself off, packing everything back into her duffel. Though her lunar cycle technically lasted seven days, she had Chosen and was therefore safe, as well as, possibly, pregnant – so mission accomplished, Faery. She left the Veil and returned to the mortal world feeling a little bit of a headache and dizziness, as one sometimes gets during a change of atmosphere or turbulence.

She began her trek back through the woods towards her home and felt Eric's presence closing in on her location. She kept moving, knowing that he would find her and keep pace with her. He didn't feel particularly angry, which surprised her. Rather, he felt highly amused. That emotion was less surprising; the man lived to amuse himself.

"Hello, Sookie," He was right next to her before she could blink, and she barely stopped herself from jumping.

"Eric," She replied cordially, waiting for him to begin the conversation. He would want to comment on her dropping him out of the Veil.

"That was a little rash of you, wasn't it? Dropping me out of the Veil like that?"

For as much insecurity she had about his interest in her life, she knew him fairly well. "Maybe a little, but I was safe enough,"

"I thought you were vulnerable during your Cycle."

"Only so long as I don't Choose. It doesn't matter if the man I Choose isn't present after the first consummation, because the magick of the choice still lingers."

"I see," He paused and forced the duffel off her shoulder and on to his. She let him; the damn thing was heavy as hell. "So, what did you need to think about that you couldn't do with me around?"

Blunt, as ever. "A few things that needed to be dealt with internally before I dealt with them externally. I had a lot of stuff dropped on my mental porch in the short time that I've been back from Faery." He looked at her expectantly. He wanted blunt honesty, well fine. So be it. "Including, you, my alter ego, and…our baby."

He stopped walking and stood stock still. "Come again?"

Oh, dear. So Faery Sookie hadn't explained that little part of the deal – no wonder he agreed to abide by Faery Laws.

"Did you say baby?"

"I did." And she kept walking. She had only just had this conversation in her head – She _wasn't_ ready to have it with him yet! Sookie had intended for them to talk about their potential relationship, not a baby that was likely on the way. Maybe even more than likely, if the magic coiling in her womb was anything to go by.

"I don't follow," He hurried to catch up with her, even tripping.

Sookie resisted the urge smile. She hadn't seen this side of him before. "I wasn't really planning on having this conversation with you yet."

"As I've been dead for over a thousand years, I hadn't planned on having this conversation _ever_," He countered.

Good point, and a fair one at that. "Why don't we go inside," They were now standing at the back of the house. "And sit down and talk about this while I make myself some dinner, ok?" She didn't know why she felt the need to be gentle and mothering – maybe it was the confused, lost, look on his face – but she brushed it off and continued on inside. This was going to be a long, awkward conversation, and she wasn't going to be able to get through it without some food in her stomach. Eric looked like he was about to pass out – a True Blood might do him some good, as well. She just hoped he would handle this as well as she thought he would, and wouldn't be furious at her Faery's trickery.

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><p><strong>AN: So what'd you think? Reviews are like…applebutter to me. Next chapter is two of the most dreaded conversations a male could ever have (as I understand it) – the 'where is our relationship going?' and 'I'm pregnant, and you're the father. Surprise!' conversations all rolled into one. Poor Eric. MUAHAHAHAH! **

**Please review! You're comments and squeals and everything in between are much appreciated.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks to all of my amazing readers and reviewers: livesimple, sydkiwi, writergirl89, caffeineXaddict, CeruleanKitten, SuperK4141, foxgodess07, erin1705, TB-Chelyk, xxxbulletxxx, Thorsminion, The 11th Doctors Mermaid Sam, Spygrrl, Cante, Ericsfae, aprilshowers021, StarKiss666, eamurray022980, kerriki, sluggysmom, Anna-Rogue-Marie-Howlett, ap630, tatie87, desireecarbenell, IkeaGoddess, jenifaui, VAlady, ebm1, racecz5, bbet, ArmyGirl2010, Evie, Queen of Night, vikingtrubie, DawnLeon, SVMReaderCH, SassyBR, mrsmars, kardamon, LampPostInWinter, and Wynter89.**

**Thank you so much for helping me break the 250 review mark!**

**A point of clarification and explanation: Eric was never human. His beating heart was caused for the sole purpose of making all the little Eric and Erica's moving after 1000 years of being in stasis. His ability to walk in the sun was caused half by Faery magick, half by the blood he drank from Sookie during the exchange.**

**Thank you to my wonderful, amazing Beta Rachael.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 9: The Talk<span>

Sookie ate her dinner of Easy-Mac in silence, watching Eric out of the corner of her eye. The wild, somewhat numb, look had disappeared and Eric seemed, for all intents and purposes, Eric again. He was drinking his True Blood with an air of tightly-controlled emotion and, she could sense, forced serenity. She could probably use their new bond to discover what his real emotions were, but decided that would be an invasion of privacy – and if he was panicking on the inside, well he had every damn right to. She finished eating and rinsed her bowl out in the sink, wiping her hands on the dish towel hanging from the stove.

She turned to sit back down and shrieked; Eric was standing right in front of her, and had her more or less completely backed up against the counters. She waited for him to make the first move, letting him stare her down. She held firm, even as his eyes lowered from hers and traveled all the way past her chest and came to rest on her stomach. She stood still, letting his mind do whatever the hell it was doing. His eyes flashed to hers as though to warn her before he sank to his knees and clasped her in a tight embrace, his head resting on her navel.

Even though it freaked her out a little – Eric Northman was _not_ a touchy feely sort of person – she let him hug her and kept right on waiting. She could be patient if the occasion called for it. Eventually, Eric's face turned up to hers, wearing a confused expression.

"I can't hear it,"

…Huh? "What?"

"The baby. I can't hear it. Does that mean something's wrong?" His tone, though calm, was laced with concern.

If she were any other woman, Sookie probably would have dissolved into a puddle, but she was not any other woman. Still, she let herself be warmed by it and allowed herself a chuckle at his expense. "Silly," Her voice was teasing and gentle, "You won't be able to hear the heartbeat for a couple of weeks," She paused, frowning. "I think."

"You think? You mean you don't know?" He stood, keeping hold of her waist.

"Well, I've never been pregnant before! I had no reason to learn anything."

"Well, what's normal at this stage?"

"I don't know."

"When do you get an ultrasound?"

"I don't know. How do you know what an ultrasound is?"

"I remember it being invented. It was a very big deal back then, in the late 1950's," he said, dismissively. "I would imagine the machine has evolved since then. What's the next step?"

Sookie gently removed his hands and moved around him to get to the fridge. "Well, the first step is to wait a couple of weeks and make sure I'm _actually_ pregnant, with a test." She poured some milk into a bowl and pulled a box of pistachio pudding from the cupboard. She noticed the frown and answered his question before he asked it. "I need to use a test to be certain, but I am eighty-five percent sure that I am pregnant. The reason she Chose you isn't just because you're pretty."

Now she would have to tell him about the Faery laws. "When she made you promise to abide by all Faery laws as they applied, did she tell you _how_ they would apply to you?"

"Not in so many words." He shrugged. "She explained about the Lunar Cycle, and I assumed that was what she was talking about."

Sookie paused in the mixing of her pistachio pudding and shook her head. "It wasn't. Not all of it, anyway."

"What else is there?"

Sookie hesitated and nervously wiped her hands on her jeans, setting the bowl into the fridge to chill, before turning around to look him in the eye. "According to Faery Law, a child is the most treasured thing in creation. It is in their social construct, and their legal one, that at the moment of conception, the creators of the child are bound together by the magic and blood of creation."

"Which means…?"

Sookie shuffled. "In the same way that I am yours by Vampire Law, you are mine by Faery Law. You owe a duty to me and our child. By Faery Law you are required to care for our welfare – physical, financial, mental, or whatever – and…you and I are bound together by blood, Faery magic, and the magic of creation. So long as I am fully functioning in my abilities to…" Sookie struggled with the phrasing. "…provide you with heirs, you and I have to be completely faithful to each other until death do us part." The last part of that sentence kind of just tumbled out of her mouth, causing the words to run into each other.

Eric blinked. She waited for his reaction. When she realized he was probably thinking things through – he had that numb look on his face again – she turned around to pull her pistachio pudding out of the fridge. With relish, she dipped a finger in it and sucked it clean – All Faeries, it turned out, had a sweet tooth. She jumped a little when she heard his fangs click, and turned to see him watching her with a hungry, slightly devilish expression.

"Glad to see you're feeling better so soon," she said dryly.

"Well, I got what I wanted. Who wouldn't be happy?"

"Oh _really_?" Sookie folded her arms across her chest. "So, you wanted me to get pregnant, and subsequently be bound to me for the rest of my life – unable to have sex with any other woman besides me, or be celibate?"

"Well, those weren't really the terms I had in mind when I set out to claim you, but I'm not about to complain. I never got to have children, while I was alive – after my father died and I became King, I was sent to battle the Irish in order to prove that I deserved my throne. Godric found me in that battle and claimed me," He looked a little wistful when he spoke about the past, she noted, but quickly returned to the Eric she knew – devilishly handsome, wickedly funny, and completely sexy. "As to having sex with no other woman but you… I can live with that, frankly." He grinned. "Especially since it means that, because I won't be having sex with other women, I'll just have more sex with you…"

He began to stalk towards her but Sookie didn't move and, instead, stood with her back to the counter and bowl of pistachio pudding in her hands. "Not so fast, tiger." She frowned and wrinkled her nose a little before moving past him to open the spice cupboard. With her free hand, she pointed to the top shelf of the cupboard. "Cinnamon, please,"

Eric's face seemed to break out into an uncontrollable grin; he was _very_ amused. Biting back a chuckle, he reached up and pulled down the desired cinnamon and snapped open the lid, giving it a few gentle shakes into the bowl. "Is that good, or would you like more?"

She peered down into the bowl and seemed to debate it in her head before replying. "A little more please."

Eric obliged her with an arched eyebrow, seeming to find her desire for more cinnamon fascinating. When she nodded, he snapped the lid shut and put the cinnamon back on the top shelf. She continued to eat her pistachio pudding and gave no warning for her next sentence.

"How do you feel about me? What, exactly, is our relationship?"

Eric's eyebrows shot to his forehead. "Are we taking notes from Faery Sookie on bluntness, or… are you just curious?"

"Neither," she replied. "I'm stuck with you for the rest of my life, and I have yet to decide whether or not to be worried. If I'm going to be miserable, I'd like to prepare myself."

"Miserable?" He flashed her a wide, toothy smile. "Sookie, you're looking at the man you'll be spending the rest of your life with. What's there to be miserable about?"

Sookie gave him a disbelieving look and shook her head. "Answer my original questions."

He stepped forward to close the space between them, only to have Sookie step away from the counter, and back another step further. He tried it again with the same result. The corners of his mouth twitched.

"As you wish," He paused and peered down at her, phrasing his answer carefully. "I care about you. I won't say I love you because that would not be true, and I have a reputation to uphold as having never lied to you."

Sookie nodded. She could accept that.

He continued. "As to our relationship, I do not believe it would be inappropriate for you to refer to me as your husband."

She froze, her entire body going stock still. She swallowed and shook her head. "I don't think it would be appropriate – the term husband is reserved for recognition by God and the Church."

She was not going to let him have this one, no sir. There was no ring on her finger, no ceremony – small or otherwise – with her friends and the local pastor.

His eyes flickered slightly, and Sookie could tell he had just barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. "Very well," He paused and sly small came over his face. "How about," He moved too fast for her to see. His entire body was pressed up against her, and they were nose to nose. "_Lover,"_ he kissed her nose. _"Paramour,"_he kissed her forehead. _"Darling,"_ he kissed her left cheek. _"Älskling," _he kissed her right cheek. _"Mine."_ He kissed her lips gently, sweetly.

Sookie's mind was in a pleasant, hazy place and for a minute she thought of welcoming the rest of her life by breaking her bed in, but ultimately decided that they were not done speaking yet. She pulled away gently, and gave him a dry look.

He sighed. "We're not done talking yet, are we?"

She smiled. "No, we are not Mr. Northman," The corners of his mouth tilted upwards into an amused smile. He picked her up bridal style, much to her surprise – as was made evident by her shriek of protest – and carried her up the stairs to her bedroom, where he pointed at her pajama dresser. She didn't know if she liked him know where her pajamas were kept – it implied he'd gone through her drawers.

"Eric, we need to keep talking, and I'm not tired," The moment the word 'tired' was spoken, a yawn forced it's way out of her mouth. She ignored the smug smirk that settled onto his mouth and got her pajamas on. Once he was sure she was ready, he picked her up again and carried her back down the stairs. She didn't try to fight him this time.

"Eric," She paused. "Why are you carrying me?"

"You could trip and hurt the baby." Oh, the next nine months were going to be _fun_.

"Hon, the baby isn't even the size of a bean yet."

"Just because something is very small doesn't mean that it doesn't deserve the same consideration as a larger member of the same family." Well, alright, but did he have to act like she was an invalid? Sookie had a bad feeling that working at Merlotte's for the duration of her pregnancy was about to become far more complicated than it needed to be. He laid her on the couch and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders before lying on the couch, placing himself in between her legs with his head once again resting on her stomach. She gave a mental sigh of exasperation but didn't try explaining to him, again, that he wouldn't hear anything for awhile.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

So warm and comfortable, and his baritone, raspy voice so soothing, Sookie could hardly remember. "Well, I thought that since you're stuck with me, you should probably know a little about what I got myself into in the Underground."

"The Underground?"

"Technical term for the Faery Realm."

"I see," He paused. "Are you sure this topic would not be better discussed tomorrow, after you have had time to rest?"

"Oh, we're not going to finish it tonight. Frankly, I don't even know if we'll ever get to everything that happened to me in the Underground. But you should know the important things, at least the basics of them, as soon as possible,"

"Alright,"

"I'm too tired to think straight, so I'll probably jump around a bit." She paused, trying to decide where to begin. "I was attacked by my grandfather's wife, Queen Mab, because she thought I threatened the status of her children and grandchildren. Granddaddy sent her away to Winter for it, and banished her from Summer for a hundred years.

I was lonely in Faery. I left everyone and everything behind in an effort to move on from the mess that Bill had left behind, and I paid the price for it. My granddaddy got his title and Faery name only ten years ago, so his political position isn't real firm. His official title is High Prince, but right now he's little more than a figurehead. He married Queen Mab and became her consort twenty-five years ago, affirming his position in the courts and essentially stealing the throne out from under her. Though his title is less than hers, as her bonded mate, and simply being a _male_, he has more power than she."

Sookie paused in her story, becoming distracted by Eric rubbing small circles into the palm of her hand. "What are you doing?"

"My mother used to do this to me when I was little, I think. I remember it being very pleasant and soothing, and putting me to sleep."

"If I go to sleep, you won't find out what you've got to worry about,"

"So talk before you fall asleep." He didn't stop.

"He, granddaddy, that is, noticed I was becoming a little depressed. I think I had been in the Underground for about four months at that time, and I was starting to feel homesick. My granddaddy still looks like he's in his mid-forties, and every time I looked at him I saw Jason's hair and eyes. Well, he decided to take matters into his own hands and set me up with a potential suitor,"

Eric stopped rubbing. Sookie held back a whine in protest, and attributed it to sleeping on the forest floor and being tired. "And?"

"His name was Prince Damian, of Fall. He's a handsome man, I guess, not unlikable. We met a few times at social events and privately held balls, and my grandfather apparently took that as a thumbs up. He arranged a courting between us, even though I was not interested in Damian. I begged him to release me from the courtship, but he refused. He said it was in my best interest. Damian became…manic. Faeries are very emotional creatures and, what's more, they only really _feel_ one emotion at a time. He came around more, tried to get me alone often. I did everything in my power to dissuade him, but he was persistent. At the midsummer's ball, about a month after my mandatory courtship with Damian began, I met a man."

A small, amused grin took its place in Sookie's expression. "He was a Prince from the Unseelie Kingdom, an ambassador. The Seelie and Unseelie have been on the outs for hundreds of years, but when my granddaddy took over the political movement he bartered a peace agreement with them. The midsummer's ball was to be the first summit between the two kingdoms. As was proper, one representative from each court was obliged to dance with each other and open the ball,"

"You and this other man were chosen," Eric filled in the gaps that her sleepy mind was not having her mouth make.

"Yes. He was very intelligent, quick to laugh, and ambitious. I liked him very well. So well, in fact, that when he asked my granddaddy's permission to Court me, granddaddy accepted. Niall – which is my grandfather's Faery name – was very proud of me having two well-known, reputable suitors. I confess that part of the reason I didn't fight the second Courting was because I was fond of him, and wanted an excuse to make Damian go away."

"Did it make Damian go away?"

Sookie swallowed uncomfortably. "No, it didn't. During one of my grandfather's dinner parties, I snuck off to the library for some alone time – it was too crowded and I was getting a headache – but I wasn't alone. Damian followed me," She hated the way her voice quivered when she spoke about what happened. "He had decided that I was his, and it didn't matter what I had to say about it. He figured that the only way to get my grandfather to stop playing around and agree to wed me to him, and not to my other suitor, was for us to be bonded by magick and creation."

"He tried to rape you, and get you pregnant," Eric's voice dipped an octave lower, betraying the anger he had tried to keep her sheltered from in their bond.

"Yes. He thought that because I had grown up in the mortal world, I wouldn't know how to use my powers to defend myself, and that I hadn't been in Faery long enough to figure it out. Turns out, I didn't have to. Faery Sookie came alive that night – she took over my body and used our powers to fend him off. Granddaddy was furious when he found out, and brought him to court. Damian was released three days later with a heavy fine, and a destruction of our courtship. For awhile, everything was fine. The Unseelie ambassador continued to court me and all was very pleasant, up until about a month before I left. Damian came back in full force – using his money and his family's connections to reestablish a courtship agreement. There was nothing granddaddy could do about it – the territory of Fall is responsible for all metal works in the kingdom. If he lost their support, his soldiers would have no swords or armor."

"We were never left alone, thank God, but he found other ways to threaten me and scare me," She exhaled slowly, the bloody scenes flashing behind her eyes. "It started off with a few threatening words and glances and gradually progressed to strange things happening to people I liked; my maid fell off a ladder when she was dusting a chandelier in my room, only the dusting of the chandelier wasn't her responsibility; my horse got loose from the stables and jumped a fence that was too high and wound up breaking two legs, and had to be put down, only his stall was still latched shut; my uncle Dermot, who is the spitting image of Jason, was grievously wounded in a fencing accident, though all the foils were rounded off."

"The last straw was a ransom note coming from Winter, that told my grandfather that unless Prince Damian and I were wed, they would kill Queen Mab. He had been angry with her, sure, but she was his bonded and he loved her more than anything – so he agreed. I fled soon after that, after hearing the maids talk. I can only assume they sent soldiers to my rooms to find me. So, without telling my new friends where I went, I returned to Bon Temps to get some space from me and the Faery."

Sookie had unconsciously begun running her fingers through his hair at some point, and stopped in the task to get him to look at her. "In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably mention the fact that, had Damian not returned, it's very highly probable I would have married the Unseelie ambassador; I was very fond of him, and admired his cut and dry logic and ruthless ambition,"

Eric looked up at her, and asked "Who was he?"

Sookie didn't have time to respond before another voice chimed in, "Me."

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><p><strong>AN: So, now we have Sookie/Eric fluff, Eric Adorkableness, and Sookie's second suitor!**

**Thanks again for all of your wonderful comments - I'm so happy that everyone is pleased with the story and thinks this is original enough to be worth of notice.**

**Also, did everyone see the last episode of True Blood? That kiss made me melt! Bill is such a cockblocker though - he'll totally interrupt them. Anyway, Thanks again! Please review and leave me your thoughts.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/n: Thank you all of my wonderful, amazing, stupendous readers! And, a big thank you to my fantastic, extraordinary, supermegafoxyawesomehot reviewers: sydkiwi, erin1795, bwtawny, IkeaGoddess, desireecarbenell, xxxbulletxxx, nordiclover, CeruleanKitten, KoteDiM, VAlady, capital6, writergirl89, KaiaRay, Daph Lina, cdsnow, alexandra76, tbloodlover1000, kerriki, Ericsfae, Ruby Sword, sluggysmom, aprilshowers021, foxgodess07, livesimple, jenifaui, Queen of Night, whitestripes123, Dawn Leon, cante, bbet, Spygrrl, ebm1, Thorsminion, Anna-Rogue-Marie-Howlett, ArmyGirl2010, StarKiss666, Kojichan.x, kista-angel, lovinthevamp, Ozzykomakozzy, Jackia, Crystal Moon Magic, sweetdamage, kardamon, and losingmymind3696. We've broken the 250 Review mark, and are literally two reviews away from 300! YAY! **

**How'd you like the ending of last chapter? I'm such an evil bitch. –sighs- Sorry y'all. I just can't help it sometimes. Anyway, I know the majority of you are probably reading this thinking 'yeah, ok, is there a point to all this? You're taking time away from reading the chapter' and the answer would be…no. I kind of just like hearing myself talk…even virtually. :P**

**So, no beta for this chapter cause I babysat and had two hours to kill while the kids were down for their nap and I was sans internet…So I did it myself. Aren't you proud? (and if the quality of the chapter is less than average, well, you know why)**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 10: Déjà vu<span>**

Eric looked up from his position on Sookie's stomach, and couldn't help the bemused smile creeping its way onto his face. Motherfucker.

"Brion," His voice was smooth and emotionless, hiding his irritation at not hearing the Faery enter. "What a surprise. Did you get lost again?"

"Not at all, Eric. Did you? I could have sworn that you said your home was in Shreveport."

"I do, but my girl lives here, in Bon Temps,"

"Well that's truly amusing, because so does mine – as a matter of fact, you're laying on her right now," Brion's voice was smooth and held a hint of humor.

"Actually, I'm lying on _my_ girl right now. Perhaps yours is invisible, and she could move? Sookie and I were busy."

He could feel Sookie tense beneath him, and the disapproval rolling off of her in waves. Brion laughed and gave them both a cheeky grin before sitting in the love seat opposite them. Though Eric's Vampire demanded that he challenge Brion for daring to call Sookie his, Eric restrained himself. The man had yet to show any hostility towards either of them, and seemed rather at ease with the situation.

Brion observed them with a critical eye, before smiling and turning his attention to Sookie. "Sookie, darlin', how are you?"

"I'm alright, Brion."

Eric said nothing, but watched carefully as they conversed.

"You left in an awful rush."

Though the sentence was spoken like a comment, Eric had no doubt it was a demand for an explanation.

"Damian didn't give me much of a choice, I'm afraid. He killed my maid and then blackmailed my grandfather! I had to leave, fast,"

Brion looked at her sharply "Darlin', don't you go feeling sorry for your grandfather. Damian wouldn't have ever touched Mab; she's his aunt. It was an empty threat, and your grandfather knew it – it was just easier agreeing to the marriage than it was to fight back."

"Fight back with what, exactly?" Eric could feel Sookie begin to warm beneath him, her blood stirring in anger. He resisted the urge to smirk. "Damian has all of the weapons!"

"Oh, Sookie," Brion smiled, and Eric felt a growl worming its way from his chest to his windpipe. Eric knew that smile –_ he_ wore it all the time. It was the smile that betrayed exactly what the wearer was feeling, in this case amusement mingled with adoration. "Your grandfather betrayed you," Brion said bluntly. "Being angry with him for doing so, doesn't make you a bad person or a bad granddaughter. He sold you out – twice. Once to Damian, and once to…me."

Sookie frowned and looked at him, alarmed. "What?"

"Well, I had to find you some how. What's a man to think when you don't leave a note?"

"What did you do to my grandfather?"

"What I had to, in order to find you."

Sookie paused and Eric could hear the cogs turning over in her mind. "Meaning….?"

"I tortured him." Eric's eyebrows shot to his forehead.

"You _what?_" Oh, she was positively furious now. Eric felt himself settle into the couch with a smug feeling; he wasn't going to have to work at all.

"Oh, don't be angry with me love," Eric couldn't stop the growl this time. Brion ignored him. "He deserved it – selling you to the man who tried to rape you."

"He's still my grandfather!" Sookie's voice was indignant and angry.

Brion shrugged. "He's alive and recovering. It's his own fault; he betrayed you, broke _our_ courtship agreement in the process, and then refused to tell me where you went off to – likely so he could tell Damian."

"You would torture a man just because he betrayed my trust, and insulted you?"

"No, Sookie," There was no humor in Brion's voice, now. "I would _kill_ a man that betrayed your trust and insulted me in such a way. The fact that he is your family spared him."

Sookie, Eric felt, didn't quite know how to respond to that and so fell silent. Brion, seeming to sense it as well, changed the subject.

"So, you made a Vampire for your Chosen. That's…interesting." Much to Eric's surprise, and suspicion, there was no malice in his tone. Rather, Brion was teasing her, gently pulling her out of the foul mood she seemed to have sunk in to.

"I didn't. Well, I did, but it wasn't _me_…"

Brion's eyes widened. "Really? Well, now my curiosity is peaked. Why?"

Eric spoke before Sookie could, having decided that he wanted to test this man. "So I would be bound to her for the rest of her natural life and have to protect her."

Brion's eyes traveled to his slowly, and Eric could very clearly see him taking stock of the information. "I see. So, congratulations are in order!" He grinned broadly at Sookie with a wide, beaming smile. Eric was astounded. This man didn't just contradict the expected, he _was_ a contradiction. He hunts down Sookie, who he was all but engaged to, only to find out that she's pregnant by a Vampire and bound to him for the rest of her natural life and he…smiles, and congratulates them. Eric didn't like this. His instincts were telling him that not everything was as cut and dry as it first appeared; this man knew something and was purposely withholding it until he could use it.

Sookie, however, didn't appear nearly so surprised. As a matter of fact, she looked like she'd been expecting it. "Thank you, Brion, that's very kind. We don't actually _know_ yet, but…"

Brion snorted. "Oh, if your Faery was the one who did it, then you most certainly _are_ and can count on it."

"You think?" There was a shift in her tone, one Eric couldn't identify and made him wary.

"I do. Now, the question is, who's going to be the father?"

Eric sneered. "And here I thought you were mildly intelligent,"

Brion's gaze snapped to Eric's and his tone became a little more chilling, and sharp. "Watch your tone, Vampire. I know who the sperm donor is," He paused before returning his gaze to Sookie; it was far more gentle and kind than the one Eric had gotten. "My question is, who is going to be the _father_?"

"Eric and the Faery made a blood and magick agreement that stated that he would abide by all Faery Laws as they applied to him."

Brion leaned forward, with his hands clasped before him, a thoughtful look on his face. "That doesn't mean he has to be the father."

If Eric hadn't been paying attention before, he sure as hell was now. Sookie seemed to awaken to the words as well, her sleepy state vanishing completely. "Come again?" Her voice was a little shaky. "Brion, Faery laws state that the bond of creation binds the parents in blood and magick. We are bound by that and by Vampire law as well."

"Sookie, you don't have to do this," Brion's voice was gentle, pleading; it made Eric want to rip his head off. "There are ways around the laws – everything has a loophole."

Sookie said nothing, but Eric could feel a veritable hurricane of emotions overwhelm her. He sat up and removed his head from her stomach, leaning back on the couch in a relaxed pose – one that would enable him to attack the man across from him without injuring Sookie, if the need came. He glared threateningly at the Faery across from him, daring him to say something more to upset her. The Faery ignored him.

"You will be ostracized in our society, Sookie. Bearing a child out of wedlock is bad enough, but bearing a _half-vampire_ child out of wedlock would be grounds for banishment – perhaps forever from the Underground. The Faery Laws apply to him, only so long as they _actually_ apply to him."

"What does that even mean? He is the father!" Sookie was getting frustrated, and Eric didn't like it – why did she even need to know?

"They don't know that."

You could have heard a pin drop. "What?" Sookie's voice was barely above a whisper.

"They don't know that he is the father. Our hierarchy goes through the matriarchal line specifically because you _always_ know who the mother is, but who the father is could be unclear."

"It _isn't_ unclear!" Eric snarled, not liking where this was going one bit.

Brion continued to ignore him and kept his focus on Sookie. "It could be though. We courted, and it would not be uncommon for you to take another during your Cycle. Let me claim the child as my own and let me claim _you_ as my wife. You would be well respected in Faery, protected from Damian in a way that he could never reach you – he wouldn't _dare_ offend the Unseelie Court! Forget this world and the Vampire. Neither of them have ever done you any good – both have only brought pain and danger to your life. _Tell them I am the father!_"

Eric had had enough. Before Sookie could even blink, let alone respond, Eric had Brion by the throat. The two tipped over the loveseat and struggled – the Faery was fighting back with as much spirit and strength as the Viking. Sookie shrieked at them to stop, but the words fell on deaf ears. These men were in a different mindset right now, one that would not be altered by the shrieking of a woman. Eric thought that Brion would go down easily enough – after all, the Faeries were almost wiped out of existence by Vampires, so they couldn't be that powerful. Eric was wrong.

With a roar of fury, the Faery's eyes began to burn gold, his right hand gripping Eric's throat and his left holding onto Eric's wrist. All too quickly, Eric felt himself begin to weaken; his blood was boiling beneath his skin, almost as it would under the sun. Eric struggled against the pain to keep his hold on Brion, but could not. The moment his hand released Brion's throat, Brion hauled him up by his shirt and slammed him to the wall, causing all the pictures that _weren't_ being crushed by Eric's body to fall off of the wall. Eric brought his hands over Brion's ears and clapped him hard, causing Brion to lose his concentration on his magick. Eric took full advantage. He slid down the wall and pulled his fist back and began to furiously pound the Faery, only to have the Faery regain his concentration.

There was no magic heat boiling his skin from the inside out this time – Brion was too spent for that, it seemed – but there didn't need to be. Eric was forced to grudgingly acknowledge that Brion was not only just as strong as _he_ was, but an excellent fighter as well. Still, something was bothering him. Throughout the entire fight, Eric had the deepest sense of déjà vu. This man… he had seen him before, fought him before. He was sure of it. But where? The fight raged on. Sookie was still screaming, still shouting at them to stop, but she was, at the moment irrelevant.

Eric felt himself get thrown backwards towards the entry way; the Faery had managed to get his foot in between them, and used it to launch Eric across the doorway. He clipped the side of the wall on the way down and took a chunk out of it. It looked like something out of a loony tunes episode. Sookie stopped screaming. Brion advanced on him, ripping a piece of the baseboard off of the wall; he was intent on ending this now.

Eric snarled and charged forward, ripping the wood from Brion's hands. As a consequence of that, Brion's hands began to bleed. The moment the smell hit Eric's nose, he could feel his mouth begin to water. If it wasn't tempered by the fact that Eric fucking _hated_ Brion, he would have admitted that the Faery smelt _almost_ as mouth watering as Sookie. Eric realized that showing any reaction to it had been a mistake the moment Brion purposely sliced his arm. Eric's eyes darted to the wound immediately. The scent was intoxicating, distracting even – as it was intended to be. Eric let his eyes wander to Brion's, and tried to understand the man in front of him. This wasn't a stupid move. The Faery knew that Eric would react in such a way, knew that there was potential for Eric to go completely crazy over the smell.

Brion was playing with fire, but he was not an amateur. Eric forced his mind to focus, trying to fight his instinct to feed – which was now growing stronger by the moment. This was a tactical move, and a risky one. Brion wanted Eric to attack him, wanted him to lose control. Why? Eric didn't have the presence of mind to figure it out; he was too busy keeping himself from losing his actions to reckless hunger. As the two men glared at each other from the space of the few feet between them, Eric caught Brion sneaking a quick glance at Sookie. Eric did the same. She was sitting on the couch with her hands folded primly in her lap, looking generally upset, and utterly furious.

All too quickly, the pieces fell into place. This fight had nothing to do with them, and everything to do with Sookie. Brion wanted Eric to lose control because he wanted Sookie to see Eric for what Brion would have her believe him to be – a monster, a danger to her and their child. That cunning, underhanded bastard had thought everything through. His little jibes about being a father to Sookie's baby, it was meant to rile Eric into this fight. Of course, Eric had no doubt that Brion very much meant the words he had spoken to Sookie – but the _way_ he had said them had been with the intent of pulling Eric into a fight. This was a grand, strategic, well-thought out plan, and Eric had fallen right into it. This man had just, very grudgingly, earned Eric's respect.

Eric straightened and forced himself to calm down. "As much as I would like to continue this, I do not believe that now is the appropriate time or place,"

"You're just thinking that now?" Brion smirked and his eyes lit up a little; he knew that Eric had figured out his game.

"I don't believe we should endanger Sookie so recklessly, especially not in her condition."

"_Now_ you worry about my safety?" Sookie spoke up, and for the first time since the fight began, they both heard her. She was actually _bristling_. "I want both of you out of my house, _now_. It is one in the morning and I am _tired_. I've had a long week and I need some sleep before I snap and kill both of you. And, on top of everything else, I now need to find a repairman to patch up your handiwork!" And then she stormed upstairs to her bedroom and slammed the door. Eric couldn't blame her.

The two men looked at each other before making their way to the porch. In the cool air, they were both returned to their state of serenity and calm, though they showed every bit of the knock-down-drag-out they had just had in Sookie's living room.

Brion sighed and rolled his shoulders. "I'll apologize in the morning, once she's had a chance to cool down. You know, Vampire," He paused and grinned at Eric. "You're an excellent fighter, one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of combating. In another life, we could have been brothers in arms, if not in blood."

"_In another life, we could have been brothers in arms, if not in blood."_ The words rang in Eric's head and his mind struggled to make the connection, drawing from the recesses of his mind. Images came unbidden to his mind; armor, blood, swords, Godric, the battle.

He turned to look at Brion slowly before replying. "Given the fact that we have fought this battle and come out alive, and drawn blood from each other, I would say we are brothers in blood already."

Brion grinned broadly at him. "So you _do_ remember me! I _had_ wondered."

Eric blinked and pieced things together. That sense of déjà vu when he was fighting Brion, it wasn't just déjà vu. He _had_ fought him before.

_1000 years ago, on the very battlefield where Godric had claimed him, Eric had fought in hand to hand combat with an Irish Prince. The two had gone at each other for hours, both unable to overcome the other; they were the same, evenly matched. And when the battle was over, for it was over long before the two were finished fighting, they parted ways as equals._

_The face of the man he was fighting had been covered by his helm, and Eric recollected wondering how the man could possibly breathe under it._

"_It appears we are evenly matched," The Irish Prince said in heavily accented Gaelic._

_It was difficult for Eric to understand him, though he knew enough to get by. "In another life, we could have been brothers in arms, if not in blood."_

"_Given the fact that we have fought this battle and come out alive," Eric replied in his own native dialect. "And drawn blood from each other, I would say we are brothers in blood already." _

_The Irish Prince acknowledged him with a wide, bloody grin and tilt of the head. The two walked backwards until they were several yards apart, neither willing to turn their back on the man they couldn't defeat._

_Impulsively, Eric shouted to him before they met with their comrades. "Perhaps we will meet again in the next life!"_

_The Irish Prince slipped off his helm, and though it was too dark, and the man too far away, Eric could make out a pair of gleaming hazel eyes and wild black hair. He shouted a reply in Gaelic first, then in rough Norwegian when Eric didn't reply. "Count on it, friend! Maybe even sooner than that!"_

_Eric looked forward to their next skirmish with the Irish. He would welcome any opportunity to fight with that man again, that man who fought with his mind as much as his heart. And next time, he would win._

Of course, he never got the chance to fight with that man again. Godric claimed him that very night, and Eric didn't care about anything else after. He would win. He would win because this was a battle he could not lose, because this was a woman he could not lose. He had to win.

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><p><strong>An: So, yes. Eric and Brion have met before, one thousand years ago on the battlefield. Brion Boru was a real Irish King who conquered much of Ireland until he was overwhelmed by a rebellious fiefdom and was pushed back by a people known as the Nordic Gaels (I think…Don't quote me on that – writing this with no internet to double check what I read a few days ago).**

**For all intents and purposes, I've shifted history a bit and the outcome but it won't affect the story too much. The grudging respect, can't-help-but-hate-you thing-which-sucks-cause-we-would-be-awesome-friends, is already in full swing (in case you couldn't tell). While I realize that Eric speaks Swedish, I don't believe it was actually called that back then. Just go with it, lol.**

**Review please! We hit an all time high of 43 reviews for last chapter and it made me positively giddy – no, really, ask my friends; they hid under their beds. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/n: Sorry for the long wait everyone! I had a bit of writer's block for this story, and then got hit by inspiration for my own novel so I had to take some time to work on that before it completely flitted out of my brain. This chapter has not been Beta'd because I am simultaneously impatient and feeling extremely guilty. When Rachael finishes her alterations and suggestions for this chapter, and I've done the edit, I will probably repost it.**

**Thanks so much to my amazing, fantastic, reviewers (in case anyone was wondering, I actually spelled that correctly on my own –grins-): erin1705, foxgodess07, IkeaGoddess, The 11****th**** Doctor's Mermaid Sam, sluggysmom, xxxbulletxxx, sydkiwi, Mrscan77, VAlady, kisa-angel, kerriki, alexandra76, writergirl89, aprilshowers021, livesimple, caffeineXaddict, Ericsfae, losingmymind3696, desireecarbenell, Gina, vikingtrubie, Millarca666, Sookie-Eric, Thorsminion, CeruleanKitten, ebm1, kardamon, Swasson, Evie, whitestripes123, Anna-Rogue-Marie-Howlett, OzzykomaKozzy, Jessica, Queen of Night, ArmyGirl2010, ncmiss12, momzombie, Team Jane, Nanani, TheLadyKT, and WinchesterLover2993.**

**To answer a few questions from readers: (1) Sookie is so fertile because of two reasons: (A) The child was conceived during the Lunar Cycle, a period of high fertility for Faery and (B) She's part human. Faery experience infertility, and one single high point of fertility (though, even then, it's more like a 50/50 chance hence the week long orgy). Humans are already at 50/50 chance, more or less (This is not including specifically figuring out when you are fertile and then intentionally having sex during that time). So, Sookie's already at a 50/50 chance simply by being more human than Faery, and then the lunar cycle kicks in which bumps he chances up to like… 75 or 80%. And they had sex twice.**

**(2) I agree that the sex scene between Eric and Sookie in the last episode of True Blood was unsatisfying, but I don't know that there will be a ton of sex scenes in this story – as I've said before, I kind of suck at writing them. There will probably be maybe one or two more, at the most. I'm in this for the plot, not the sex (unfortunately, lol).**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 11: Hello, Goodbye<span>

Brion had always been a patient man, because he had always been a smart man. He knew when to be cautious and when to take a risk, he knew when to strike and when to retreat, and right now he knew that he was in very real danger of losing Sookie. He hadn't recognized him at first, sitting next to him in the bar. After all, it was over a thousand years ago that the two had met. He noted the striking resemblance to the blond man drinking his glass of wine, and found himself feeling wistful. After a thousand years, it couldn't be the same man, but Brion was still struck by the resemblance. So, when the man started speaking to him, Brion answered him, albeit reluctantly.

He had a trying day of searching for Sookie only to come up with nothing, as Niall had given him very little to work with. Talking to the man helped him release some of the tension he felt, and the man had, in turn, offered him an idea on how to find her more quickly. Of course, the idea had occurred to Brion after the first hour of his fruitless search, but if Niall had told Damian the same information, Brion didn't want to tip him off. Stopping in the bar had been a stroke of luck – he had heard Sookie's name pass between the bartender and the cook, and it hadn't taken much to get her address.

After the man had left, Brion knew with absolutely certainty that this was the same man he had met on the battlefield so long ago. What's more, after a little magical digging, he could tell the man was Vampire, and had been spelled by a Faery – likely Sookie. Brion remembered hearing about Sookie before he met her, and knew that she had connections in the Vampire community; it hadn't been an unreasonable assumption to make. So, he would have an opportunity to battle the Viking once again, as he had desired. He always regretted not being able to do so back then, but he never had the chance. That day on the battlefield was his last in the mortal world. Technically, at the point in time, he had been eighty eight years old – and looked it, at least to most people.

Brion had found out his Faery heritage when he was twenty nine years old, after wandering a little too far into the forest and into a Faery circle. He was twenty nine years old forever more, after that. His mother had been part Faery, but his father, his _real_ father, had been a natural born Faery. One trip to the Faery realm for a few days was all it took for his immortality to kick in. Of course, he couldn't stay there – he had obligations to his kingdom and his family – so he returned home. Over the course of the years, he used his magic to shield his real appearance from people and let his visage age to the mortal eye. He had no wife and children to speak of – it was his brother's family that would carry on – so leaving had been a little easier. For his last day on Earth, his last true battle, he allowed his visage to disappear. He was going to fight in his true nature, in his true body. No one would know – the battle was too hectic and his helm did a good job of covering his face.

The Viking had been his last real opponent in battle, and what a battle it had been. Brion was still mostly human when he fought Eric; the only part of his Faery nature that had taken hold was his immortality, at that point. After that battle, he let himself 'die' and left a false body in his place, a piece of Faery magick, and entered the Faery realm. He had always hoped to keep tabs on the Viking King, but the man disappeared, supposedly among the dead in the battlefield. Brion didn't believe him to be dead, but now he knew where the man had disappeared to.

Now, the two would fight again. He admitted that he could have planned things out a little better – having a fistfight in Sookie's living room hadn't been a part of it – but he was overall pleased with the result. He had incorrectly gauged Eric's reaction to his taunts, but it benefitted him none the less. He expected Eric to get angry, yes, but not to the degree that he would fly over the coffee table and attack him. But it was alright. They were both alive, in a manner of speaking, and Brion now knew the depth of Eric's feelings for Sookie. Did the Vampire love her? Maybe, but he hadn't admitted it to himself yet let alone her, so Brion still had a chance.

Of course, Sookie's Faery having tricked the Vampire to abide by their laws wasn't something Brion had prepared for, but he wasn't terribly worried. Most of the Faery's beliefs about what bound two people in creation and magick was just bullshit. It was a social standard created by the Divine to keep the Fae in line, and the Faery had kept it as a part of their traditions. The reason the laws still held after thousands of years was because people were gullible – tell them something enough and have it beaten into their heads after thousands of years, generation after generation, and it becomes real for them. Fortunately, Sookie hadn't been raised in Faery – she didn't hold the stigma in her brain. Of course, it had been explained to her by a true believer, so she might be a little more difficult to convince, but he felt with absolute certainty that when she made her choice, whichever way it went, it wouldn't be because of any obligation according to some archaic law. She deserved better than that.

He had gotten lucky in that, even for the near thousand years he had been in Faery, he retained the logical part of his brain that was human. He never lost himself to reckless Faery abandon. He admitted to himself that telling Sookie he had tortured her grandfather so bluntly wasn't the best way to do it, but it needed to be done. Sookie's entire relationship with the Vampire world had consisted of lies and trickery, and some blunt honesty would be good. Brion relaxed into his motel-quality bed, his hazel eyes counting the flecks on the ceiling. He would see her in the morning, away from the Vampire and his influence. They needed to talk seriously, for a different reason other than him wanting to see her.

* * *

><p>Sookie opened her eyes and immediately glared up at the ceiling. She <em>hated<em> waking up in a bad mood, but this one couldn't be avoided. The moment she went downstairs, she would have to get out the broom and dust pan and begin to sweep up all of broken glass and bits of plaster. Why did boys have to be so stupid? Oh, right. Testosterone. She sighed and laid still in the bed, thinking about everything. The irony was just…too much. She had come here to run away from the situation in Faery, and now wanted to run somewhere else to get away from the situation here. In hindsight, she had been doing an awful lot of running lately.

With a sad smile, she thought to herself 'Once upon a time, there was a girl named Sookie. This girl was different from others and often set herself apart, even when she didn't mean to. You see, this girl could read people's minds – and often did, mostly by accident. This caused problems for the girl and made her feel very lonely because no one understood that she couldn't help it, that she didn't mean to invade their minds. One day, a Vampire walked into the bar where she worked and she couldn't hear his thoughts – and suddenly, she didn't have to be lonely anymore. Then that Vampire betrayed her, and hurt her as a consequence, so she ran away.'

That was the first time she ran away, and was evidently a portent of things to come.

'So, the girl ran away to Faery, where she had family and could hopefully find peace once again. Everything was fine, for awhile. She couldn't hear their thoughts, and so was put on the same level as them. She learned how to fence and fight, how to make clothes, how to ride a horse… But she couldn't forget her brother, especially not with an uncle who looked just like him. Her grandfather, having seen this, decided that he would remedy her loneliness by setting her up with a potential husband, Prince Damian. Thing was, Sookie didn't like him. While all Faery felt things more vividly, this particular Faery was completely manic. She wondered if sometimes the Fae side didn't dominate the Divine, and in this case she was pretty sure it did.'

Sookie paused in her mental recount of what happened to get up from the bed and absent-mindedly make it and tidy up her room.

'Then, she went to a ball. The girl had never been to a dance before due to her gift, and this was certainly more formal than a high school dance, but she went all the same. It was wonderful, in ways she couldn't even begin to describe. Pixies, the thumb-size servants of the Faery, carried miniscule lanterns on their arms to light the room and give it a honey-washed glow. The decorations were almost beyond description. Sheer fabric had been hung from the pinnacle of the dome ceiling and stretched to the alabaster pillars, where they were clipped to by a solid silver ring and allowed to drape to the bottom. The ballroom had become a bower, as everything was decorated in the leafy green and faint violet of grape leaves, and was shimmering with Pixie light and magic.'

A warm smile came to her face as Sookie thought of what happened next, and changed out of her nightgown.

'As the granddaughter to the High Prince and ruler of Summer, she was obligated to dance a Faery Waltz with the honored guest, who was an Ambassador from the Unseelie Kingdom. Though her grandfather was less than pleased with this as the Seelie and Unseelie Kingdom had _just_ come to a peace agreement and things were still a little tense, he could hardly argue. So, she danced with him. They spoke while they danced, and the girl found herself intrigued by this handsome man with the wild black hair and hazel eyes. He spoke with intelligence and humor, his eyes tinged with mischief, and the girl found herself charmed. It wasn't long after that Niall received a formal request for courtship of Sookie, and though he was concerned that it was from an Unseelie, he was pleased that such a notable man had taken an interest in his granddaughter – this could only improve relations between their kingdoms, in any event.'

Sookie doubted that he thought it would ever get very far.

'The girl half-hoped that her new courtship would discourage Damian. It didn't, but her new suitor made things bearable. She and her new suitor, whose name was Brion, decided to take things slowly – they were both Faery, and as such had plenty of time to get to know each other, hundreds of years, even, if they so desired to drag things out that long. The girl knew that Brion reminded her of someone, but didn't know who and wasn't about to waste time finding out. She had fallen in love too quickly, with the Vampire, and she was not about to make the same mistake twice. She was more cautious now and as a result perhaps a little more tame, though she was still the same inside. And then, all too quickly, the situation began to deteriorate. Damian let loose of his madness and drove her out of the realm, using her grandfather as his puppet,'

Sookie frowned at the thought of her grandfather, grudgingly admitting to herself that they had never really gotten close the way she and Gran were. He was too…Faery, for that.

'So, she returned to the mortal world and everything it held for her, including Eric Northman. She hadn't the time to warn Brion of her departure, and undoubtedly would have contacted him within the week if he hadn't shown up in her living room the night before.' With the conclusion of the re-telling, Sookie was brought to her current problem. Brion had, more or less, given her a way out if she wanted it. Trouble was, she didn't know if she wanted out. Seeing the two men fight over her (which was completely ridiculous because this was _her_ decision, and the outcome of the fistfight would have had _nothing_ to do with it) had made her realize who Brion reminded her of: Eric.

She didn't _love_ either of them and now had to choose who she would spend the rest of her life with, and who would be a better father for her child. The Christian in her was demanding her to be with Eric, because he was the rightful father to her child, but the woman in her was less certain. Damian was a problem, yes, but one that could be remedied by marrying Brion. After that, the way was clear of all foreseeable obstacles. Being with Eric, however, was not. No one would believe that a Vampire had sired a child, and so to most people that meant that the child would be fatherless. And, Eric had Vampire politics to deal with, which meant that at one point or another Sookie would have to deal with them too – maybe even Bill. She could never marry Eric, and would be a social leper if she did.

Marrying Brion would be easier, that much was certain, but there were other things to consider. She would have to move to Faery, and deal with the politics there (though she had less complicated, poor history there). She might have to give up seeing her friends and Jason, who she had yet to speak to. Sookie just didn't know. Brion was willing to be a father to her child, and she knew that he meant it. All Faery cherish children – even if it's not their own – and Brion was no exception. Still, the fact that she had unconsciously become fond of the Faery equivalent to Eric had to be taken into account. And, now that Brion had openly admitted to torturing her grandfather, and she was _still_ considering him to be in the running for the title of husband/father, she could no longer use Eric's torture of Lafayette as a reason to rule him out.

Though Eric had claimed her, if she was to choose Brion and they went to Faery, he wouldn't be able to follow her. Freedom from the Vampire Laws, and wiggle room in the Faery Laws, had now given Sookie the ability to make a choice without the pressures of either. She liked both of them, very much, and her decision would affect a lot of people. She had to choose carefully, and wisely, and hope that this was all she was going to have to deal with.

Her room tidy, Sookie went downstairs to get a late breakfast – it was already twelve thirty in the afternoon – and was pleasantly surprised to see that her living room had already been set to rights, and the wall had been repaired and freshly painted. There was a note on the kitchen table from Eric, judging by the scrawl.

_Sookie,_

_I apologize for the incident last night and have taken the liberty to have a repairman come and fix up the wall and living room. I will see you tonight when we may discuss things further. Please know it was never my intention to endanger you or our child. Even as furious as I was, I would never have harmed either of you._

_Eric_

There was no endearment at the bottom, but the fact that he apologized told her everything she needed to know. Perhaps Eric wasn't as cold as he pretended to be, after all. Logically, Sookie figured, since Eric was capable of great hatred, he should be capable of great love as well – you cannot have one without the other. The only question was _would_ he love her? Sookie guessed she would have to wait and see. She was absentmindedly making coffee and taking out the components of breakfast when she heard a knock on the door. Stepping away from the kitchen counter, she walked towards the front door slowly, not sure who would be at her door since no one apart from Sam and Eric knew she was back yet. She opened the door and gave a mental sigh.

Brion was standing there with a bouquet of lilies, waiting for her permission to enter. Despite Sookie have her whole internal monologue about giving them both a chance and thinking through this carefully, she recalled all too easily the image of Brion throwing Eric and taking out a chunk of her wall.

"Hello, Brion," She smiled at him before stepping back. "Goodbye, Brion."

And she shut the door in his face. To be fair, she probably would have done the same if Eric had shown up instead of left a note.

"Sookie, wait!" He called out to her. Sookie debated on whether or not to open the door. "We have to talk, about Damian. I was going to do it last night but things got a bit out of hand, and I'm _sorry_. It was never my intention to have a fistfight in your living room, _believe_ me."

Sookie hesitated a moment before opening the door, her arms crossed over her chest in righteous indignation. "You may not have meant to do it, but you still did it. Now what _about_ Damian?"

"Damian has issued a complaint against you, for violation of your courtship agreement."

"How did I violate our courtship agreement? If anything, _he_ violated it when he killed my maid and tried to threaten my grandfather."

"Not _tried_ to threaten your grandfather, darlin'. When he _did_ threaten your grandfather. He's saying that you left Faery without acknowledging, through the proper channels, that you would be gone. Which, unfortunately, is true."

"So what can he do?"

"He can have the Faery council issue a Judgment."

"And the Judgment won't go in my favor?"

"No," Brion said, pausing. "I think it will, but having the council issue a Judgment has nothing to do with convicting you of a crime so much as it has to do with getting you back in Faery, where he can reach you."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I have spies in the court, and the report only to me."

"Does he know where I am?" Sookie felt a little panicked.

"No, no!" Brion rasped, rushing to reassure her. "I've put things in motion to delay the courts, so don't worry about it right now, but you need to be aware of the reality that he is going to come for you at some point, and you need to be ready."

"Ready how, exactly?"

"You need to continue your training, both fighting and magical."

"I can protect myself, Brion." She reminded him defensively.

"I'm not talking about protecting yourself. I know you can do that. I'm talking about being ready to kill Damian the moment he walks through your front door."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So…yep. A little bit of a boring chapter, I know, but next chapter contains the following (maybe, probably): Jason, Eric and Sookie's first date, and a Brion/Eric/Sookie fight scene. Don't hate on Brion too much. Trust me when I say there's a good chance you'll feel guilty about it later. :P**


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